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| 12/29/2011 | MERRY CHRISTMAS! (12/25) HAPPY CANADIAN BOXING DAY! (12/26) HAPPY RIZAL DAY! (12/30) Joy to the World!” At Barner Christian Academy, the preschoolers were dressed in red and green Christmas colors as they sang Christmas carols focusing on the birth of Jesus Christ. Their presentations by each individual class were performed before hundreds of appreciative parents and teachers, who were watching from the audience. The joy that these kids expressed was more than just in their words, for the joy shone from their faces as well. “Kids,” I challenged them during my Christmas message, “Did God really bring joy to the world?” YES! called out the BCA pupils. “And through whom did that joy come?” JESUS! They called out once again. Before the kids’ presentation had begun, I was sitting in the front row of the audience, waiting for the program to begin. In the Philippines, quite often an event only begins after enough spectators have arrived. Schedules are often run by numbers rather than by clocks. As I sat there, a little kindergartener came over to me to practice his newfound English skills. “How are you today?” he asked, in broken English. “Fine,” I responded. Curious as to the boy’s aspirations, I asked “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Knowing that his parents likely make a living either by selling fish they’d caught the night before, or else scrub clothes by hand, I was pleasantly surprised with the boy’s response. “When I grow up, I want to be an engineer. I want to build huge bridges and strong buildings and roads that have no holes in them. I am going to make this world a better place to live in!” WOW! This poor little preschooler, from a family that has always known only poverty, is going to transform his world for the better! So as, half an hour later or so, as our little future engineer stood beside his classmates and belted out, “Joy to the World, the Lord is Come,” this boy was living proof that the little baby in a manger 2,000 years ago still brings joy to the world today, in 2011. Until next time… Let the islands rejoice! Present need: $535 for a solar-powered 20 gallon rooftop-installed hot water tank for BLC. Please pray: (as you stay on your knees, we’ll stay on our feet!)
Praise God:
Status of $30,000 needed for three 21-passenger jeepneys to replace three of our overcrowded BLC 10-passenger multicabs: $2880 received, $27,120 left to go! Five of the present seven BLC vehicles are dangerously overcrowded. BLC Children still waiting for sponsors: 22. |
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Rev. Paul, Elvie, PJ and Abigail Barner (082) 234-4000 Home address: 18 Eileen Drive, Rensselaer, NY 12144 PLEASE NOTE: OUR PJLILTIM@SKYINET.NET ADDRESS IS DISCONTINUED. PLEASE INSTEAD USE BLCKIDS@YAHOO.COM. THANKS! |
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| 12/22/2011 | “We are like another Father’s House!” Often, when there is an event in our BCA school, some kids come upstairs to our apartment on the third floor of the school, for games and snacks. On one particular afternoon, hundreds of our BCA (Barner Christian Academy) students had performed dramas, sang songs, and were given a puppet show of the Good Samaritan Bible story. After most of the kids left for home, 2 dozen children and their parents crowded into our small 10x10 foot living room and also our kitchen for their “afterglow” time. As I propped up a pillow under my head and lay on the floor (all our couches and chairs were already full of people), a ten-yr-old was on the floor on my left, and a nine-yr-old on my right. We were like sardines. PJ put into the VCR a great family-oriented movie and we laughed, ate popcorn, drank iced tea and chowed down some fresh-baked cake, enjoying the special time together. “Let’s read the Bible, sing and pray together!” somebody suggested. So we took turns reading about the magi, and discussed how they had traveled as buddies two years following the star in search of Jesus. Quite close, I am sure, like the 24 of us were as we cuddled together (like the old “Waltons” television show, without the harmonica)! “That was soooo much fun!” the last kid said as he left to go home. “We were like an orphanage!” He was referring to our Father’s House Drop-off Center for Street Boys. The kids there get along great together too. Although the Father’s House boys come from dirty sidewalks all over the city, they have grown to love each other well, like a family of fourteen brothers. They go to church together at a nearby place of worship, and they are all looking forward to soon moving out from their cozy residence to a 3-acre-sized vacant fruit farm which we’re purchasing on the nearby island of Samal. There they will be growing vegetables, animals and fruit trees, as well as enjoying fresh air and getting an education at a nearby public school. Once they vacate our present building for them in the city, we will start “collecting” stray girls who are living on the sidewalks. You know, as humans, we have many needs. Food, clothes and shelter are a few of these. Yet the hundreds of kids in our church, school and boys home which we’ve started are having two deeper needs met: Christian teaching and love. While we may not be the Waltons, we still have the family-style warmth of joyful opportunities to share the love of Christ with those whom Jesus labeled in the book of Matthew, “the least of these, your brothers”. In a way, as we help these children at Christmastime, it is as if it is a gift that we are giving back to Jesus on His birthday. Until next time… Let the islands rejoice! Present need: $118 for a small portable sound system (with microphones) for me to bring with me to share Jesus with, as I when I fly to India and Sri Lanka in February and March. Please pray: (as you stay on your knees, we’ll stay on our feet!)
Praise God:
Status of $30,000 needed for three 21-passenger jeepneys to replace three of our overcrowded BLC 10-passenger multicabs: $2875 received, $27,125 left to go! Five of the present seven BLC vehicles are dangerously overcrowded. BLC Children still waiting for sponsors: 22. |
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| 12/15/2011 | HAPPY HANUKKAH! (12/20-28), HAPPY FIRST DAY OF WINTER! (12/22) “My sneakers have freewillitis…their soles aren’t eternally secure!” Since I couldn’t find my racing sneaks while getting ready (at 2am) for last week’s 42km marathon, I threw on my old running shoes. But boy, did I regret it. Little pieces of the sole’s eighth-inch thick tread kept falling off, and the resulting unevenness of my stride caused cramps in my muscles. Since this was my seventh marathon, I tried to learn from the previous races. One trial is the sheer length of the thing. Six hours is a looong time to run. It is therefore kind of boring. So I had bought a special belt to hold my GU (runners’ fuel), as well as to hold my Tylenol, MP3, headphones and batteries. Since I’d already listened to the recording of the Bible from Genesis to Luke (for my 55th time), I expected to finish John through Corinthians. I even charged a few extra batteries in case the one in the player should go dead. While it was still dark, my gear was ready and I drove to the starting line of the race. After the starting gun went off, I ran a few miles to develop my stride before pulling out my tape player. The display lit up but…no sound! Fiddling with the equipment, I saw that my headphones had “bit the dust”. Now I would not only have a boring run in worn-out sneaks, but also have to lug, over 42 km, the dead weight of an unusable MP3. An old proverb quotes, “A friend in need is a friend indeed.” I really wanted to hear that Bible recording as my “running companion”. At home, I had had no problem with it. But when I needed it the most, in this ultra-race, it was not available. It was not my friend in need. I went ahead and prayed for everybody I could think of (while running), and also sang (in my head) hymns for every letter of the alphabet. I cheered on other runners (as they passed me, or vice-versa). Finally, after the finish line (6 hours and fourteen minutes), and getting my medal, I drove home to shower and head to church. After church my assistant pastor helped me (on my wobbly legs) to the pulpit for the benediction. Then was lunch and the children’s worship. The kids were led in Christian songs before their Bible message. But these songs were not the ones that are really wordy and hard for the kids to sing. Instead, the 200 kids present belted out the kids’ songs that I grew up with. “”I Have Decided to Follow Jesus” and “Jesus Loves the Little Children” were among the dozen or so songs they sang. Though my sore muscles were throbbing, I basked in the heavenly chorus of two hundred children’s voices singing the Bible songs that I had grown up with. At 4pm, as the kids left their worship service, I listened in as they were humming the songs they’d sung during their worship time together. I thought “Hmm…how sweet. Though my sneaks, and my headphones…those things I’d counted on, were not there when I needed them, there is one thing that these kids can depend on. We will always be there to teach them the meat of the Word of God. We will not let them down when they need us most. A friend in need…a fiend with the precious message of salvation…at the time of need…is a friend indeed!” Until next time… Let the islands rejoice! Present need: $1500 to fix the BCA gym roof. The wind and rain from the recent two typhoons (Pedring and Quiel) blew off part of the roof and some of the wooden struts cracked and broke from rot. We have begun replacing them with light steel trusses. Please pray: (as you stay on your knees, we’ll stay on our feet!)
Praise God:
Status of $30,000 needed for three 21-passenger jeepneys to replace three of our overcrowded BLC 10-passenger multicabs: $2870 received, $27,145 left to go! Five of the present seven BLC vehicles are dangerously overcrowded. BLC Children still waiting for sponsors: 22. |
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| 12/8/2011 | HAPPY BONIFACIO DAY! (11/30) PEARL HARBOR DAY: 70 YEARS (12/7/41) “It’ll be either an obstacle course or a demolition derby!” Since November 30 is a Filipino holiday (Bonifacio Day), millions of children have the day off from school. I usually have the local swimming pool all to myself early in the morning, to swim my morning laps. But on that day it was packed with over thirty kids! How would I train for my upcoming international Ironman triathlons with such congestion in the pool? Yet thankfully my goggles did not fog up and I was able to put in half an hour without ramming into anybody. In fact, the kids treated it like a game. As soon as they saw me swim toward them, they choreographed dodge motions and swam in a sort of dance-style “hot potato” format. When I finally dried myself off and left the pool to begin my bicycling, dozens of little junior swimmers looked up at me with beaming smiles from the fun time they had, playing “dodge-the-swimmer”. I daily exercise before heading back to the school to catch-up on my office work. Since I pray and listen to the Bible on tape as I practice, it sets a great spiritual foundation for my day. Sometimes the local culture can throw up obstacles in the way of ministry, just like those children seemed to impede my progress in swimming. Actually the obstacles, like the children in the pool, can be seen as a part of ministry, instead of an imposition to it. As foreigners, missionaries have clear goals in mind. Yet sometimes we need to decide whether we will carefully work through the obstacle course (of culture), or if we will “barrel-through” like a demolition derby. Last week, it was decided that our drop-off center for street boys was ready to accept a few more boys. Ben and some friends went out late at night to talk with the children sleeping on the sidewalks of Davao. Three dusty little shirtless beggar boys were really hungry and willing to be fed. They also wanted to sleep in a real bed and join our drop-off center (Shepherd’s House) the next day. Yet when Ben and our social worker began the next day’s research of these kids, they found that one of the boys was not abandoned. He actually has a large family of brothers and sisters and parents in a tiny house to live in. Ben had a choice: obstacle course or demolition derby? Being the intelligent man that he is, he chose the former choice. When Jake Paul had to stay at his own home instead of join the Shepherd’s House, one of his friends left with him. However the third boy, Steve, really needed a safe place to live. So although it would have been nice to have ten boys in the house, there were only eight, and they were the really needy ones. Had they not been in the house, they’d be hungry and homeless. The next night Ben and his friends went out on the streets again. Among the thousands of hidden homeless street-children in Davao, they found more homeless boys, just waiting to be invited to the Shepherd’s House. Since we did not force our way and demand that the other two kids would stay, the space was available for all fourteen truly needy kids in our home for street boys. They’ll all be with our BCA athletes Saturday for our triathlon team practice. See, treating the challenges of life as an obstacle course instead of a demolition derby often helps more people to experience God’s outstretched love for them. Until next time… Let the islands rejoice! Present need: $650 for tables for BLC’s Industrial Arts class. Please pray: (as you stay on your knees, we’ll stay on our feet!)
Praise God:
Status of $30,000 needed for three 21-passenger jeepneys to replace three of our overcrowded BLC 10 passenger multicabs: $2865 received, $27,145 left to go! Five of the present seven BLC vehicles are dangerously overcrowded. BLC Children still waiting for sponsors: 21. |
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| 12/1/2011 | “I don’t think that the words of that song are Christian…” One of Abigail’s friends, Frauline, was having dinner with our family after her Saturday triathlon practice with the BCA team. I had turned on a computer Internet radio station, for some background music. The label on the screen had said, “Inspirational Praise Music”. Little did I know that the singers were in an attitude of praise, but not to the Lord. After Fauline’s comment, I listened closer and realized she was right…they were praising each other for their love affairs! I quickly turned off the secular love song that was blaring through the speakers. Working with children keeps us on our toes, for they often notice things that we adults miss. A few days later, PJ was glancing through our DVD collection and he asked, “Dad, how come we keep this bad movie on the shelf?” Peeking over his shoulder at the DVD in his hand, I suddenly remembered…we’d bought a discount movie at the store a few years ago, but when we started watching it at home, we turned it off due to bad language and profanity. I had meant to throw it away, but never got around to it. So on Friday, as I led a brief devotional Bible study for businessmen and pastors, I brought a few of those “questionable” movies with me. After reading together from Acts 19 (where the Ephesian believers burned half a million dollars worth of witchcraft scrolls) I asked the men and women present, “What are you hiding in your closet?” When I broke the DVDs which I had brought with me, pieces flew all over to emphasize the importance of “making a break” from the “secret sins” It truly is amazing how a few comments from children can touch the lives of doctors, lawyers, pastors and businessmen! Praise God that these kids are daily learning to discern what is right from what is wrong. After the study was over, a fellow missionary came up to me to find out again the names of the videos I broke, and what the contents were, so that he could look through his own collection at home and do some “cleaning up”. In the words of one of the businessmen present at this morning Bible study, “That was one of the best Bible Studies we have had, these past thirty years, since we began!” Until next time… Let the islands rejoice! Present need: $265 for a new (homemade) 10-foot-high metal gate for BCA, for increased security so that we don’t have to pay round-the-clock guards. Please pray: (as you stay on your knees, we’ll stay on our feet!)
Praise God:
Status of $30,000 needed for 21 passenger jeepneys to replace three of our overcrowded BLC 10 passenger multicabs: $2860 received, $27,150 left to go! Five of the present seven BLC vehicles are dangerously overcrowded. BLC Children still waiting for sponsors: 21. |
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| 11/24/2011 | Diary November 24, 2011 HAPPY THANKSGIVING, USA! (11/24) “That tiny kitty is still surviving!” Ben, administrator and one of the house parents at our Father’s House/Shepherd’s House orphanage, was calling my attention to an itty bitty, tiny kitten, who couldn’t be more than three or four inches long, wobbling on pencil-thick, scrawny legs. The kitten and her sister had been found stranded in the gutter, and the orphan boys had brought the newborn kittens back to the orphanage. Since there was no mommy-cat to feed them, and since the orphanage’s dog had just given birth to half a dozen puppies, the kittens just naturally decided to “play the part” and nuzzle up next to the mother dog to be fed. Amazing as it may seem, the mother dog, though scrawny herself, did not mind sharing her supply with both kittens and pups! While one of the kittens died, the other, though a bit bloated, still holds on, day after day and week after week. The miracle of two natural enemies (cats and dogs) getting along so well, comes down to a basic idea of compassion, that when one sees the other’s need, though struggling themselves, the one who has, is often willing to provide for the one who has not. It is kind of obvious the parallel between these two animals and this ministry. The orphanage invites orphan boys off the sidewalk, where they are struggling to live. Once in the safety of the orphanage, they are fed, clothed, and strengthened, as we also teach them about Jesus. And the kids are surviving…even thriving. In the Barner Christian Academy as well, hundreds of poor children, who otherwise may just be skipping school altogether for lack of funds, are daily learning how to read, write and study. Sunday afternoon, as hundreds of energetic students recited Bible verses in their 6-hour kids’ chapel, as they sang songs of praise to God, and as they were quizzed on Bible knowledge, and as they sat in chairs around tables of food all over the school gym, it was almost as if these hundred of children were really like that little kitten, surviving, day after day, with both food and love from that mother dog. Likewise, there are many “mother dogs” all over the world who are paying for the sponsorships of these kids. You have been granted a delightful gift form God, that of compassion. Though struggling yourself to survive, you have nonetheless sacrificed from the little that you have so that a child on the other side of the world may get food, clothes and an education. Thank you so very much for your faithfulness! Thanks for being like that mother dog, taking care of both her own pups and also one or two stray kittens who have nowhere else to go. May God bless you this Thanksgiving! I am so very, very thankful for YOU. Until next time… Let the islands rejoice! Present need: $$60,000 for the first floor of our new building, which (after funds arrive) will be built in the location of the present BLC gym. Please pray: (as you stay on your knees, we’ll stay on our feet!)
Praise God:
Status of $30,000 needed for 21 passenger jeepneys to replace three of our overcrowded BLC 10 passenger multicabs: $2855 received, $27,145 left to go! Five of the present seven BLC vehicles are dangerously overcrowded. BLC Children still waiting for sponsors: 21. |
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| 11/17/2011 | Diary November 17, 2011 “Arrrr-ing-ing-ging…” as the drill went lower and lower into the depths of my tooth, my drowsiness was broken as a nerve was touched. At half a century in age though, I knew I could take the slight discomfort. “R-ring-r-r…” a little deeper, the pain was a tad sharper. But I am an Ironman, after all…I can take it. “Grrrrr…” ground the angry drill…Ouch! Suddenly my hand voluntarily shot up into the air, as if saying, “Listen, Golden Ironman, if you don’t raise me, I will do it myself!” In reply, a nice, deep shot of Novocain numbed the pain. After the dentist wedged a brace into my mouth to keep it open, I fell asleep for the remainder of my two hour operation. Phew. A few days later, the real pain came. The dentist had injected Novocain, but it wore off halfway through the operation. That was just as the dentist was digging into the deepest, darkest recesses of my root canal. Ooohhh, the pain! Moaning all the way home, I stopped in at the pharmacy to get some pain-killing medication. Taking a number to wait my turn, it seemed like an eternity for them to call all the customers whose numbers were from #7 to mine, #15. As my jaw throbbed and pulsated, I had to get water to swallow the pill with. Another line to wait in! Finally, resting in the driver’s seat, I let the medicine do its work. I was deafened to the half-dozen beggar children at my door. I started the car and drove home to sleep. This brief encounter with pain opened my eyes to the case of Little Roger. He is one of the seven street orphans living in our orphanage. At about 12 years old (nobody is quite sure how old or young he really is), he is the only boy in our Father’s House who really does have parents still alive in Davao City. Yet since they have no home, they live on the sidewalk, on pieces of cardboard. When it rains, they sleep under a nearby bridge. Two weeks ago, Ben (one of the orphanage’s house parents, and its administrator) had some poor kids from the community come to play with the orphans. The kids told Roger that his family was in trouble. Like with my root canal, Roger found that his threshold of pain had been exceeded, with worry about his family. Secretly, at around 2am when everybody else was asleep, Roger snuck out of the house and walked two miles to where his family was. Over the next few days, Ben and his team tracked down Roger to see him helping out with menial jobs (begging, washing cars, etc.) so his family could be fed. The next Saturday, Roger joined our BCA triathlon team for their practice. But then he was allowed to go back to the sidewalk to help his family again. Everybody has a limit to what he or she can take. Sometimes we are the “medication” they need to maintain their sense of security. Who its it that tonight, as they pray before dropping off to sleep, will thank God for what you did, maybe some small gesture of kindness, to help them handle the challenges and opportunities they faced today? During this Christmas season, in a spirit of giving, let’s pray for wisdom in how best to give of ourselves to others. Until next time… Let the islands rejoice! Present need: $2995 for an Air Trak inflatable tumbling trampoline for the BCA gymnastics class. The tramp is 30 feet long and ten feet wide, and can be seen at http://www.american-gymnast.com/shop/Air-Trak-P156C112.aspx. Please pray: (as you stay on your knees, we’ll stay on our feet!)
Praise God:
Status of $30,000 needed for 21 passenger jeepneys to replace three of our overcrowded BLC 10 passenger multicabs: $2850 received, $27,150 left to go! Five of the present seven BLC vehicles are dangerously overcrowded. BLC Children still waiting for sponsors: 21. |
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| 11/9/2011 | HAPPY GOLDEN (50TH) BIRTHDAY, PAUL! (11/9). HAPPY 11TH BIRTHDAY, ABIGAIL! (11/9). HAPPY 13TH FOUNDATION DAY, BARNER CHRISTIAN ACADEMY! (11/9). HAPPY ELECTION DAY, USA! (11/8). HAPPY DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME, USA! (11/6). HAPPY VETERANS’ DAY, USA! (11/11) “Thanks for teaching me!” Ikay is the name of the best friend of our daughter Abigail. The two girls were born only a few days apart, and will both celebrate their 11th birthdays this week. Since Ikay sleeps overnight at our place every weekend to join BCA’s Saturday triathlon team and Sunday’s six-hour kids’ chapel at church, she also is with us for our early-morning Barner family devotions. She has enjoyed these family times so very much, that when she got back home one Sunday afternoon, she convinced her own parents and two older brothers to have a regular “Family Altar Bible (FAB) Time” together. Last Thursday, Abby convinced me to watch her perform at Faith Academy (Davao’s missionary kids’ school) during their weekly chapel time. After the students performed some Biblically-based skits, Abby’s teacher taught the students (and parents) how to hear God’s voice while praying. “You need to avoid distractions,” he said. Just then, his cell phone rang! So he excused himself to answer it. The second time it rang, it was obvious that he’d planned it as an object lesson. I thought, “Family time…so important, a time to turn off cell phones, television, computer, etc., to hear God’s voice” As Abby’s teacher was ending his presentation, he asked one of the kindergarteners how he knew the voice of his teacher, even if he couldn’t see her. The little boy’s squeaky voice spoke volumes about why we love to spend family time alone with God…in answer to the leader’s question of how the little boy knew his teacher’s voice, he said in a matter-of-fact voice, “CUZ SHE’S MINE!” Oh, how we love Jesus! We know and love His voice because HE IS OURS!!! Until next time… Let the islands rejoice! Present need: $300 for 100 tambourines for BLC’s new tambourine troupe. Please pray: (as you stay on your knees, we’ll stay on our feet!)
Praise God:
Status of $30,000 needed for 21 passenger jeepneys to replace three of our overcrowded BLC 10 passenger multicabs: $2845 received, $27,155 left to go! Five of the present seven BLC vehicles are dangerously overcrowded. BLC Children still waiting for sponsors: 21. |
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| 11/3/2011 | “Try the vacuum cleaner!” While preparing for our early Sunday morning baptismal service in the Pacific Ocean, I decided to use my old black shoes with the holes in the soles. The saltwater at the beach might otherwise damage my brand-new dress shoes. Yet when I removed the insoles, a huge brown cockroach, the size of my thumb, stared back at me. No amount of banging and shaking the shoe could get the vermin to let go of the inside of my shoe. I even tried to scrape it out with a pencil, to no avail. Abby solved the problem by sucking out the huge intruder with our vacuum cleaner, just sent from the USA a month ago. Relieved that I wouldn’t have to preach with that dirty little winged critter crawling between my toes, I considered, “If only Christians would latch as securely to their Lord in hard times as this cockroach held on, when times got rough for him!” During the baptismal service, after preaching a baptismal challenge from the life of Philip and the Ethiopian (Acts 8), our six candidates expressed their desires to serve God at all times. A husband and his wife, a few young teenagers, a mom and her daughter were all included in the group. As loud music blared from karaoke speakers of those unbelievers who were vacationing at the beach, our 40 at the early morning beach worship service tried to drown them out (without speakers) with hymns of praise to God. Rushing back home after the service was finished; I changed my wet clothes and drove to our church plant to speak there. “Will you follow Jesus at all times, both comfortable ones and uncomfortable times?” I asked during my thirty-minute sermon. “AMEN” agreed the 20 in attendance. Praise God for their energy! After a few hours there, I rushed back the half-hour to our main worship service, with about 500 in attendance, for the tail-end of an awards ceremony for the dozens of kids who’d memorized the most Bible verses, who brought the most visitors to church this month, and for those who had decorated themselves best in their missionary costumes. On stage receiving her prize was Ricci Marie, a 7th grader who had been on her deathbed with Lupus a brief seven months ago. Hesitant to compare her with a cockroach, I nonetheless could see that yes, she had persevered and clung on to her Savior with deep and unflinching faith. While offering the benediction, I praised God for believers, old and young, whose unwavering confidence in their Messiah stands form through thick and thin, knowing that it is not how tightly we cling to God, but how consistently He clings to us, which gives us our greatest strength! Until next time… Let the islands rejoice! Present need: $535 for a solar-powered 20 gallon rooftop-installed hot water tank for BLC. Please pray: (as you stay on your knees, we’ll stay on our feet!)
Praise God:
Status of $30,000 needed for 21 passenger jeepneys to replace three of our overcrowded BLC 10 passenger multicabs: $2840 received, $27,160 left to go! Five of the present seven BLC vehicles are dangerously overcrowded. BLC Children still waiting for sponsors: 21. |
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| 10/27/2011 | “Praise the name of Je-sus!” As the Caribbean beat of the drums and guitar filled the Barner Christian Academy gym, 200 small children clapped and sang the words of praise. “Honey, look at that little girl,” I told Elvie, who was standing, clapping alongside me in the front row. That little destitute 3-year old girl was in a plain sack-like dress, two sizes too big for her. She kept on jumping up and down, clapping away and singing along at the top of her lungs. It was our six-hour-long weekly Sunday kids’ program (8:30-2:30), of Bible memorization, Bible stories, Bible quizzing and choir practice. Now, after the lunch had ended, was the hour-long closing chapel time. As the kids joined in the singing, I couldn’t help but pragmatically wonder, “It’s great, but is the message of the Gospel getting across?” Glancing at my watch, I quickly snuck out to another large classroom behind the stage, where I was scheduled to teach the “Teen-To-Twenties” youth group. Today was exam day. Over the past month we’d studied the Patriarchs of the Old Testament. Halfway through prepping the students for their 25-question test, Elvie poked her head through the now-open door. “Richard [the speaker] is asking for your assistance on the stage.” I was a little perturbed for being interrupted just as I was about to distribute the tests that I’d worked days on preparing. But I grudgingly excused myself and left for the stage. Elvie, PJ and Abby were already there on the stage, with American flags in their hands. I was handed a Philippine flag to wave. “The Barners have crossed the globe to bring us the Gospel,” began Richard. “We need to pray for them. Where would we be, had they never come to tell us of Jesus? Maybe you too will be a missionary some day, children, just like the Barners!” Tingles went through my body as every child, aged 2 through 12, raised their hands in agreement as the speaker prayed. It was a long, energetic prayer for the Barner family, so every once in awhile I would “peek” to see the kids. Their faces said it all. Eyes closed and hands still held high in the air, they called out, “Amen” and “Oh-oh” (yes, yes). When Richard finally ended his prayer and I was about to head back to the classroom to administer the Youth Group exam, I looked again at the 200 little kids. I no longer saw a crowd of cute little kids. Instead I saw a mighty army of future workers for the Kingdom of God…an army being taught from the best training manual: the Bible. Until next time… Let the islands rejoice! Present need: $294 for 21 desk-chairs, at $14 each. Please pray: (as you stay on your knees, we’ll stay on our feet!)
Praise God:
Status of $30,000 needed for 21 passenger jeepneys to replace three of our overcrowded BLC 10 passenger multicabs: $2835 received, $27,165 left to go! Five of the present seven BLC vehicles are dangerously overcrowded. BLC Children still waiting for sponsors: 21. |
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| 10/20/2011 | Diary October 20, 2011 HAPPY FIRST CENTENNIAL, TAIWAN! (10/10/11) HAPPY COLUMBUS DAY! (10/10) HAPPY BOSS DAY! (10/17) HAPPY THANKSGIVING DAY, CANADA! (10/10) “David longed for his son Absalom.” In our morning family devotions, PJ, Elvie, Abigail and I read from 2 Samuel 14, where King David and his son had had a family squabble. “Kids, until Absalom’s death, this son fought against his own father. It is important to settle arguments right away, and not to let them build up walls between those who should love each other.” Later that day, Elvie received a call that one of the parents in the school was dying. Since I was downtown, and since I had events to attend to in the evening, it was not until late at night that I received the information. “Let’s go ahead and visit him,” I responded to Elvie’s suggestion. After all, if the man was just sick, we could wait until tomorrow. But since he might die tonight, and since he keeps pleading for me to come, it is still ok to see him late at night. When we arrived at their place, we had to follow the “rat maze” types of skinny sidewalks which formed alleys between hundreds of poor squatter shanties. Entering into their door-less home, I could see Mario sitting up in a simple bamboo chair. His wife was in tears sitting next to him. In their tiny hut, Elvie and a friend and I sat down. I heard a faint sound like a porch swing, and looked around. Yet I could see neither swings nor chains. Perhaps up in the loft above their shack was a “duyan” (hammock made of a rice sack or towel, for kids to swing or sleep in). Glancing over at Mario, I realized that the sound was actually wheezing, coming from his lungs’ gasps at trying to breathe. With a grimace on his face, he captured with great effort each precious breath and squeezed out words and short phrases. “Pastor…finally…you have…come!” His wife explained that Mario had stayed sitting up next to the door all day, awaiting my arrival. Why me? Because I speak English well. Mario knew he was dying. Yet years ago when his own father died his mother had remarried. Mother and son had had a heated argument. Now she was 80 years old and living in another country. Each time He’d tried to call his mom, the step-dad would answer the phone, hear the foreign voice, and crash down his telephone, thinking it was just another telemarketer. This time Elvie used her own cell phone, after buying an international phone card and “loading” onto the phone the extra time needed. She dialed the international number, then handed me the phone. When the step-dad answered, I explained that his stepson Mario was dying and wanted to say goodbye to his mother. What happened next touched all of our hearts. As Mario’s wife held the phone to his ear, for the first time in three decades, Mario heard the voice of his mother. Elvie punched the phone’s loudspeaker button so we could all listen-in as mother and son erased all of their misunderstandings. “I…I’m so…so sorry, Mama!” Tears coursed down Mario’s cheeks as he struggled over the next twenty minutes, to sit straight, though in pain, to capture enough air to breathe out, some times only in a faint whisper, his final parting words to his mother, halfway across the planet. When he finally said his last goodbye, Mario closed his eyes, breathing out a heavy sigh. His shirt was soaked with the sweat and tears which he’d shed. Yet a glow seemed to shine from the warmth in his face. His mom had said the magic words to her dying son, “I forgive you Mario. I love you, Son.” The burden of 30 years of anger was lifted from his heart. Now he could die in peace. Forgiveness. It was one thing that King David granted too late to be received, as he cried over the corpse of his dead son Absalom. Forgiveness…it was granted with little time to spare for Mario. Who do I need to forgive, or to ask forgiveness from, today? Until next time… Let the islands rejoice! Present need: $419 for 11 Wall fans for BLC’s classrooms, at $45 each. Please pray: (as you stay on your knees, we’ll stay on our feet!)
Praise God:
Status of $30,000 needed for 21 passenger jeepneys to replace three of our overcrowded BLC 10 passenger multicabs: $2830 received, $27,170 left to go! Five of the present seven BLC vehicles are dangerously overcrowded. BLC Children still waiting for sponsors: 21. |
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| 10/13/2011 | “Fwee-OPPP!” Uh-oh. The noise of our radiator hose bursting was not a pleasant sound to hear. We’d been invited by my associate pastor Callem to his family reunion in the jungles of Tamayun. I was to be the speaker. In Philippine custom, the BCA multicab that I was driving was packed full, with many friends who wanted to join us on this “road trip”. They’d also pick up a heartily meal at the reunion, forty miles away. Of course, the Barner family and Callem’s family were on board as well. As I was driving, PJ was asleep in the front passenger seat next to me. After putt-putting up a long mountain, I noticed that the temperature gauge was starting to climb toward the red danger zone. Pulling to the side of the road, I woke up PJ so I could unhitch the bus’s seat and check underneath it to check the engine radiator’s reservoir water level. It was still full, and not even hot, so I figured the thermostat must be malfunctioning. After replacing the seat, we hit the road again. Nobody had told me that the bus drivers had switched the radiator reservoir with the windshield washer fluid reservoir, and I hadn’t bothered the trace back the hoses to their sources. Half an hour later, the radiator hose burst. We coasted a way on the dirt road, before parking under a coconut tree. Elvie called on her cell phone to Callem, who had already ridden his motorcycle ahead to the reunion. Six of his nephews drove down to us on their motorcycles, and we continued on to the event, about 3 or 4 passengers on each bike. During the reunion, I challenged the families to be leaders through their godly lifestyles. They need to listen to God’s voice and also pray daily with their children. Since Elvie had also called two of our BCA bus drivers to drive up to the jungle to rescue us, they drove BCA’s big jeepney out to tow the multicab back to BCA. Removing the burst radiator hose, Ben and Roger tried to get the cab to run again. Meanwhile, God told me, in a very soft voice, “Check for a hose in the ditch.” Callem’s wife and Elvie were watching me from the open-air windows of the jeepney, wondering why I was looking down at the ground and into the ditch. Sure enough, there in the ditch I saw a large and muddy discarded piece of inner tube. Bringing it back to the drivers, they cut the black piece of rubber into long strips and wrapped it around the damaged area of the hose. The ladies looked on in amazement, telling me when I returned that they thought I must have hidden it there earlier on the roadside in the middle of the jungle! When both vehicles started down the road again, Elvie was incredulous. “How did you know that the needed piece of inner tube was right there in the ditch, alongside this remote section of dirt road, in the middle of the jungle? “Remember my message at the reunion?” I smiled, “Listen to God’s voice. He was the one who told me exactly where to go… and even guided the multicab in where to break down!” Praise God for always, always looking out for those who serve and worship…and listen to…Him! Until next time… Let the islands rejoice! Present need: $1500 to fix the BCA gym roof. The wind and rain from the recent two typhoons (Pedring and Quiel) blew off part of the roof and some of the wooden struts cracked and broke from rot. They need to be replaced with light steel trusses. Please pray: (as you stay on your knees, we’ll stay on our feet!)
Praise God:
Status of $30,000 needed for 21 passenger jeepneys to replace three of our overcrowded BLC 10 passenger multicabs: $2825 received, $27,175 left to go! Five of the present seven BLC vehicles are dangerously overcrowded. BLC Children still waiting for sponsors: 21. |
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| 10/6/2011 | HAPPY WORLD TEACHERS’ APPRECIATION DAY (10/5) "God loves you soooo very much!” In preparation for the Philippine Validity Testing at Barner Christian Academy (BCA), we had to track down every student who had attended the school from 2009-2011. Since two of the families had fallen apart, with one of the spouses halfway across the country, we flew their four kids to Davao for the week of testing. Since the children slept at BCA, we had our “Evening Family Bible Time” with them. Noticing Elvie’s engagement ring, I told them about the diamond. “It reflects a beautiful light in all directions, kids. You too shine with the light of Jesus, when you have accepted Him into your heart.” I could see in their eyes as these little kids compared themselves to priceless diamonds. “But guys,” I continued, “did you know that a diamond was not always beautiful? It started out as an ugly, dirty piece of coal. If it had been burned, it would have turned to ashes and dust and blown away. “But instead, it was buried under tons of dirt for thousands of years. Eventually the tons of pressure pressed that brittle coal into the strongest, most beautiful gem. Did you know that only another diamond is strong enough to cut a diamond? “Kids, do you want to be strong and beautiful like a diamond?” All four kids shook their heads yes. “Then be happy that God has allowed this pressure into your lives. Trust God when you pray, even though you miss your mother and baby sister. Lean on God’s love when you have to bring a bucket of soapy water out to the busy highway to wash cars every day to get a few pesos to buy rice for your dinner. “When life gets difficult, remember James chapter one, that through your persecution and trials, you are getting stronger.” The 14-yr-old older brother’s eyes questioned, “So, will I really be a strong leader some day?” “Oh yes,” I replied, seeing his intent. “When God sees that you have remained strong even in the pressures of life, He knows that you are not just ‘another piece of coal…’ You are strong; you will be one to shine with the light of Jesus in whatever you do.” The next morning, before we brought the kids back to the airport for their flight back home, we gave them backpacks which we filled with new clothes, food, small toys and school supplies. “See, God always provides. Just place your full trust in Him always, kids! You are four of Gods precious diamonds!” Until next time… Let the islands rejoice! Present need: $650 for tables for BLC’s Industrial Arts class. Please pray: (as you stay on your knees, we’ll stay on our feet!)
Praise God:
Status of $30,000 needed for 21 passenger jeepneys to replace three of our overcrowded BLC 10 passenger multicabs: $2820 received, $27,180 left to go! Five of the present seven BLC vehicles are dangerously overcrowded. BLC Children still waiting for sponsors: 21. |
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| 9/29/2011 | HAPPY ROSH HASHANA (9/28-29)! HAPPY FIRST DAY OF AUTUMN (9/23)! “You must preach to a Muslim one hundred times before he listens to your message,” began the speaker. He was explaining how important it is to present the Gospel message to those of other religions in such a way that they will comprehend what you are saying. Of course the Holy Spirit is the one who makes your words “come alive” in the hearts and souls of the listeners. However, we also are called to, in the words of the Apostle Paul, become “all things to all men, so that by all means we might save a few.” Before the meeting ended we had an “Open Forum” in which we inquired as to the speaker’s specific ministry. He told how, through misunderstandings and also through fanatical extremists, one of his companions was murdered by an individual in the people group to which they were handing out Gospel tracts. This was even after they had received permission and “secure passage” approval by the local Muslim leaders. After the very informative meeting, I asked the speaker, “Since most Muslims require a hundred times to hear the Gospel before they will listen, are not the words of St. Francis of Assisi true, that we should preach as often as we can, and if necessary, use words?” To which our speaker smiled and replied, “O yes. It is almost always better to be incarnational, living among the people group with which you feel called. Just make sure that your life does not contrast with your message. Practice what you preach.” On my way home, I stopped by the bank. It was payday at the school, and I also had to withdraw funds to pay for the hundreds of validation tests of our BCA students. After getting the funds, I checked at the foreign exchange shops to get the best rate for my dollars. After exchanging, I sat down and counted the money. At that time, a loud woman also came in to the same shop to exchange funds. “Wow,” she burst out. “That is a LOT of money! You could get robbed!” To which I replied, “Better that I have a lot, so that it will make it worth the thief’s while!” The Muslim woman at the exchange counter smiled at the remark. I often come into her shop to check on the exchange rates. Today was the exception, since she happened to be the one with the best rate. “He’s a comedian,” she whispered, though I am sure she knew I could hear her. “We enjoy it when he comes into our store.” The loud (non-Muslim) woman held out a pearl bracelet. “Here, would you like to use some of that money to buy a bracelet for your girlfriend?” No, I assured her. I don’t have a girlfriend. “What? An American without a girlfriend? I don’t believe you.” The Muslim owner defended me without my even having to say a word. “He has no girlfriend. He has a wife. And he is greatly respected and has lived in our city a long time.” I was done counting the cash, and as I walked to my car, I pondered, “Huh. How many of those hundred sermons did I just preach? No, I guess the Muslim lady was preaching for me, to the non-Muslim. Imagine that!” Until next time… Let the islands rejoice! Present need: $60,000 for the first floor of our new building, which (after funds arrive) will be built in the location of the present BLC gym. Please pray: (as you stay on your knees, we’ll stay on our feet!)
Praise God:
Status of $30,000 needed for 21 passenger jeepneys to replace three of our overcrowded BLC 10 passenger multicabs: $2815 received, $27,185 left to go! Five of the present seven BLC vehicles are dangerously overcrowded. BLC Children still waiting for sponsors: 19. |
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| 9/22/2011 | “Oh, that exam was sooo EASY!” This week at Barner Christian Academy (BCA) was like Homecoming Week. All of the former BLC (Barner Learning Center) elementary students from the past two years had to take an equivalency “validation” test. There were hundreds of students, graded from second grade right up through to some who are in their second year of high school. Of course no student had to take more than two years of tests, but those exams covered every subject that we taught. So it was a heavy three days of testing for our students. We had to pay for the examiners’ round trip flights to and from Manila as well as their hotel stay in Davao. Plus we needed to cover the flights and bus fare of those sixteen students whose families had moved to other parts of the country. Added to the travel expenses was the $3 fee per test. And there were over 600 tests. So the total cost of these exams reached over $4,000. However, during the week our former graduates truly shone with their intellect. The upper graders had to wait a few hours in a separate room while the lower graders finished their first day of testing, so I led the seventy or so high schoolers in singing kids’ praise songs like “Jesus Loves Me” and “The Wise Man Built His House Upon The Rock”. Interspersed between the songs were Bible quiz questions like “Who built the ark?” I remember when these high schoolers were in kindergarten, so this was a very special time, to see that they still remember the Bible truths I taught them when they were wee little urchins. While lots of these kids are in the church youth group, some of them have transferred to other churches in different areas where they live. We have a few pupils with handicaps like autism, cystic fibrosis and Down’s Syndrome. So the Validity examiners gave those students special, shorter tests. One fifth-grade student who is afflicted with cerebral palsy, finished his exams in less than an hour. Elvie noticed little Owam (his nickname) whispering in his mom’s ear. “What did he say?” asked Elvie. The mom of this handicapped child carries him around, since his feet are in braces and do not respond well. “Oh, it was nothing,” she responded. Elvie, who along with the rest of the staff, is really endeared to this crippled child who has grown up at Barner Learning Center. “Please,” asked Elvie again, “What did he say? Was he frustrated by the test?” “On the contrary.” said Owam’s mom. “He was wondering if he could take another test. It was so easy and fun!” Huh. A fun exam? Well, when you know all the answers, it doesn’t matter what your body looks like, as long as you can be recognized for the abilities that you do have. Although this testing has been expensive, there is some silver lining to this cloud of trials: our BCA kids get to SHINE so that even the National Department of Education can see their abilities. What an awesome way to begin the new phase of this institution’s history, as the Barner Christian Academy! Until next time… Let the islands rejoice! Present need: $2995 for an Air Trak inflatable tumbling trampoline for the BCA gymnastics class. The tramp is 30 feet long and ten feet wide, and can be seen at http://www.american-gymnast.com/shop/Air-Trak-P156C112.aspx. Please pray: (as you stay on your knees, we’ll stay on our feet!)
Praise God:
Status of $30,000 needed for 21 passenger jeepneys to replace three of our overcrowded BLC 10 passenger multicabs: $2810 received, $27,190 left to go! Five of the present seven BLC vehicles are dangerously overcrowded. BLC Children still waiting for sponsors: 17. |
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| 9/15/2011 | HAPPY GRANDPARENTS’ DAY! Since friends from the USA had sent school supplies to BLC during the past few months, I had PJ and Abigail help to distribute one pencil to each child as their prize for the day. Yet this past week, our American friends had also mailed to BLC some used sneakers, and filled them with dozens of chocolate-centered Tootsie Pops. As the Saturday crowd of children emptied from the school gymnasium at the close of our morning chapel-time, my plastic container of prizes also started to empty. With a dozen pieces of candy, a few pencils and one Tootsie Pop left in the box, a girl in line reached out her hand into the box to retrieve that one last Tootsie Pop…Orange flavor. “O, can I…can I please, PLEASE have this one last one?” A great big smile spread across her face as she tore off the wrapper and popped the Tootsie Pop into her mouth. A Tootsie Pop is sweet for a while, but before long the candy is gone. All you have left after the long-awaited chocolate center is gone is an empty paper stick. For all that time you look forward to the luscious chocolate center, and then in only a few moments, it is only a memory. But these children…these precious Barner Academy children, are different from that Tootsie Pop. As we have been giving education in scholastics and Bible knowledge to thousands of children in the past decade and a half, we have also had the privilege of watching them become leaders to train the newcomers. This week began the participation by the church youth group. These are dozens of teens and “young-twenties” who have already graduated from BLC in the past, yet stayed in the church to help lead in music during the Sunday worship service. These same young people also plan evangelistic outreaches to receptive areas in Davao City. Last Sunday afternoon, I led the Youth Group in a Bible study on the Holy Spirit’s role in revival. I asked them, “Could you help during the kids’ chapel this Saturday?” They were so thrilled to be considered, that one high schooler dropped out from her Saturday sporting events to help train the kids. So this Saturday the drummer, guitarist, keyboardist and soloist of the youth praise band will lead their juvenile counterparts in praising God. They’ll also be the Bible quizzing judges, as well as helping out in the Bible study dramas. While the sweetness of a Tootsie Pop lasts temporarily, the joy of changing lives, and sustaining their spiritual aptitude forever, lasts for an eternity! Until next time… Let the islands rejoice! Present need: $300 for 100 tambourines for BLC’s new tambourine troupe. Please pray: (as you stay on your knees, we’ll stay on our feet!)
Praise God:
Status of $30,000 needed for 21 passenger jeepneys to replace three of our overcrowded BLC 10 passenger multicabs: $2805 received, $27,195 left to go! Five of the present seven BLC vehicles are dangerously overcrowded. BLC Children still waiting for sponsors: 15. |
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| 9/8/2011 | “WE FORGIVE YOU!!!” During our meeting of 400 of the BCA (Barner Christian Academy) sponsored kids’ parents this week, our secretary Grace publicly confessed to falsifying the school’s government permit of operation for the past two and a half years. This has developed a need for the students to take an equivalency exam this coming October. Also they need to attend training classes every Saturday at BCA. Parents were angry with her, so we called a school-wide assembly. After singing and prayer, I opened my Bible to 2 Chronicles 7:1-16. God had told King Solomon that, when troubles were to come, he should humble himself, pray, seek God’s face, and turn from the people’s sins. Then God’s blessings would return. “We need to seek God’s face and forgive Grace, just as God forgave you on the cross!” The hundreds of parents stood up from their seats and lifted their voices in prayer. “Lord, we repent of our unwillingness to forgive Grace. Grace, WE FORGIVE YOU!!!” One of the parents, and elderly garbage collector, had been outspoken in his demands for justice from Grace. After our prayers, he asked for the microphone. Not at all refined in his speech, he yelled out in his grovelly voice (which sounded deafening with the mike right in front of his mouth), “Oh, Grace, forgive me for my not forgiving you!” One by one, half a dozen parents came up to the microphone in tears and confessed that a burden was lifted from their hearts when they forgave Grace for her sin against them. Although the children must still take training classes every week in preparation for their October equivalency exams, they are now doing so with high hopes and expectations that God will now “return His blessings,” and we will see God change a multitude of lives through the new Barner Christian Academy. We also have started weekly Saturday chapel times, and the church youth group is assisting in the music with drums, guitars and keyboard. Plus some are helping lead in the Bible quiz competitions. Parents are bringing their neighborhood kids (not students at BCA) as well. So more children are being reached through the ministry now than before the falsification of paperwork was revealed! There truly is power in forgiveness! Until next time… Let the islands rejoice! Present need: $535 for a solar-powered 20 gallon rooftop-installed hot water tank for BLC. Please pray: (as you stay on your knees, we’ll stay on our feet!)
Praise God:
Status of $30,000 needed for 21 passenger jeepneys to replace three of our overcrowded BLC 10 passenger multicabs: $2800 received, $27,200 left to go! Five of the present seven BLC vehicles are dangerously overcrowded. BLC Children still waiting for sponsors: 10 |
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| 9/1/2011 | HAPPY LABOR DAY, USA! (9/5) HAPPY 44TH BIRTHDAY, ELVIE! (9/9) HAPPY PATRIOT DAY, USA! (9/11) TEN-YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF WORLDWIDE WAR ON TERROR. (9/11) “Oh Pastor, I had goose bumps when you spoke! See all the little bumps on my arm!” Jun had walked up to me after prayer meeting on Wednesday night. Sure enough, there were bumps up and down his arm. During the service, we had all given our prayer requests and testimonies of great things that God had done for and through us this past week. “Praise God,” I had shared, “A ministry in North America gave just enough funds so that our Father’s House orphanage will be able to buy land on the nearby island of Samal, for a Christian campground and vocational training center!” I further explained that the camp is specifically reserved for abandoned and orphaned street boys. These children formerly just lived and slept on the sidewalks of Davao City, among drunkard derelicts, homosexual castaways and lascivious prostitutes. After the land is developed, the next project will be a home for orphaned girls. This last statement was what captured the attention of my friend Jun during prayer meeting. Jun has a small table set up on the street corner where he fixes people’s cellphones. Quite often, he meets down-and-outers on a daily basis. Just that morning, a daily acquaintance of his came by with a little girl trailing him. “Who is the little girl?” asked Jun. “Oh, that is my newest daughter,” claimed his friend. “But,” Jun responded, “Your children are all grown up and your wife is past the age of childbearing.” To which his friend bragged, “Oh, this girl is not the daughter of my wife, but of a very young prostitute friend I met.” Jun was incensed. “Imagine,” thought Jun, “what if this evil man had abused MY daughter? I sooo wish that somebody, somewhere, could help these girls stay out of prostitution! But who will put a roof over their heads? Who will give them an education? Who will give these street girls a good, honest and pure life? Then, Pastor Paul, you trilled me with your dream for the street kids of Davao.” Yet I was not finished with my good news for Jun. “By the way, Jun, as you know, Barner Learning Center is changing its name to Barner Christian Academy. Within just a few years, as God provides, we will have a larger property and also a free high school. Then, after another decade, Lord willing, a free college under Barner Christian College (BCC)! Then thirty years from now when I am eighty years old, as God continues to direct, we will open a University under the name of Barner University of Davao (BUD). The abandoned street girls of today may become the doctors of tomorrow! Jun’s face beamed. “Next time I see my friend with his daughter, I will tell myself, “God is going to rescue you, little one. You will never, ever end up selling yourself on the streets of Davao like your mom did. Instead, you will better the world with your knowledge from God, who gave you a doctoral degree through the generosity of those who gave through Barner University of Davao!” Until next time… Let the islands rejoice! Present need: $294 for 21 desk-chairs, at $14 each. Please pray: (as you stay on your knees, we’ll stay on our feet!)
Praise God:
Status of $30,000 needed for 21 passenger jeepneys to replace three of our overcrowded BLC 10 passenger multicabs: $2795 received, $27,205 left to go! Five of the present seven BLC vehicles are dangerously overcrowded. BLC Children still waiting for sponsors: 8. |
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| 8/25/2011 | HAPPY KADAYAWAN! (DAVAO HARVEST FESTIVAL) HAPPY PHILIPPINE NATIONAL HEROES’ DAY! (8/28) “Pastor, you are finally here! Now is the time to use our secret weapon!” A smile burst upon my friend Ken’s face. While waiting in my triathlon suit at my fourth half-Ironman race, among 800 other athletes and about that many spectators, one of my TRIAD (Triathlon Association of Davao) teammates whispered to me a reminder about the need to pray for our race. While Ken and I stood side-by-side and prayed, I considered the miracles that God had already accomplished in response to the “secret weapon” of hundreds of prayers that you prayed, to get us to this point. First there was that difficulty with Abigail’s passport, which almost cancelled our flight across the ocean from the USA. Then we’d missed our connecting flight from Manila to Naga City (the race site), due to a tarmac-related four-hour flight delay in Hong Kong. Yet God provided vacancies for all four of us Barners on another flight. The new flight brought us to a distant airport two hours beyond our destination, and yet God provided a shuttle bus to drive us those two hours over land, right back to the race site. If those weren’t enough answers to prayer, the day before the race, as I attempted to remove my bike from the travel bag it had been in for four days and five flights (NJ, AZ, CA, HKG, MNL), two essential gear bolts/screws were missing. The bike mechanic apologized, “Sorry sir, but I do not carry that bolt. You can’t be in the race without a replacement of the exact same size.” Elvie searched in the same bag that we three others had shuffled around in over and over, a dozen times, and God miraculously helped her to find both screws, hidden in different inner flaps of the bag. The evening before the race, I’d missed the final race briefing, since jet lag had taken its toll and I fell asleep a few hours in the hotel room. Yet I really needed that sleep, to get over the kidney stones I’d felt coming on. The next morning the front desk was an hour late for my 2am wakeup call. Yet God woke me up early enough so that Elvie and the kids could also accompany me to breakfast as well as onto the shuttle bus to the race site. Battling a migraine headache that throbbed from the back of my head to the front, I took a few pain killers and headed out the door. Before our family of four left the hotel room, we prayed together with the kids, “Lord, please help Dad to stay awake in his race,” started Abigail, “and also to do well in his swimming, bicycling and running, but especially the swimming, since he hasn’t been able to practice much for over two months.” I was concerned, since even a few seconds’ delay beyond the 70-minute 1.2 mile swim deadline would disqualify me for the rest of the race. Yet God answered our prayers. Not only was the 70-minute deadline extended this year to 80 minutes, but when I arrived at the bicycle stand, even though my 50-yr-old age bracket put me near the last “wave,” there were still many bikes which had not yet been transitioned by their riders. Yay, God! That meant I beat dozens, (later I was to learn that it was hundreds), in the swimming portion! Ken and I had used our “secret weapon” and prayed before the race that we’d get no flat tires during the race, and that it would not be too hot. While in other seven-hour races I’d enjoyed a brief drizzle toward the end of the run, this time the clouds opened up in a monsoon throughout the entire three hours I was on my bike! Yay, God! And I only wiped out once, around a sharp curve on mile 20. “My Waterloo,” confided a fellow swimmer just before the gun had gone off at the beginning of the race, “is the running. It is my weakest sport.” I, however, have always considered running my strong sport. But when the clouds disappeared after I finished the 56-mile bike ride, I knew I was in for trouble. Not only was it blisteringly hot, but my legs kept telling me, “Paul, you’ve got to be kidding us. You’ve run only about a dozen miles in the past three months, and now you expect us to cover more than that whole distance in just three hours? We don’t THINK so!” “Almost there…I’m almost there,” I heard a woman whispering over and over to herself as she and I passed each other mile after dreary mile. My legs felt like lead. My message to my rebellious legs was, “Don’t fail me now. As soon as we cross that finish line, there’s a thousand dollars that will be stripped from BLC’s 2008 typhoon debt!” Finally, with the finish line in sight, I found an itty-bitty burst of energy, which I’d reserved up for this final 100 yards. “HERE HE COMES!” yelled the announcer, as I zipped past another runner. In the last twenty yards there was only one runner between me and the finish line. Since she was the first in her age category to cross the finish line, the finish ribbon was draped for her to cross. “Gotta pass her…gotta pass her…I…can…do…it!” As the finish ribbon came closer, the female runner and I both crossed together, her just about two inches before me. Even though I was not first in my age category, I was still able to break the ribbon, since I ran neck-and-neck with that woman who was first in her category. “Huh,” I reflected. Imagine that. I get the credit for finishing this race, but it wasn’t really me swimming, biking and running. It was God. It was all those prayer warriors, earning my place at the finish line. What a massive joy it is to be in the Lord’s work. With God, we always race side-by-side with a winner! Ken ran up to me at the finish line. “I watched your landmark finish!” he bursted out, with a huge grin…you were definitely using your secret weapon!” No doubt about it, with prayer, ANYTHING is possible! Until next time… Let the islands rejoice! Present need: $765 for 17 Wall fans for BLC’s classrooms, at $45 each. Please pray: (as you stay on your knees, we’ll stay on our feet!)
Praise God:
Status of $30,000 needed for 21 passenger jeepneys to replace three of our overcrowded BLC 10 passenger multicabs: $2795 received, $27,205 left to go! Five of the present seven BLC vehicles are dangerously overcrowded. BLC Children still waiting for sponsors: 11. |
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| 8/18/2011 | “Wanna walk with me to the post office?” While in Ohio just over a month ago, my brother’s family lived just down the street from the Post Office. This was helpful, since a check had been written out to BLC in our previous stop, and I wanted to mail it to the bank. Yet when I got to the post office, I noticed that they had application forms for passport renewals. Remembering that Abigail’s passport was to expire in December, I figured, “Why not renew it now?” Yet when Abby agreed to accompany me, so did Elvie, PJ and some cousins. As the six of us filed across the road to the post office, I started Abby on the application. However, the clerk mentioned that we needed to get pictures of Abby, and this post office did not have a photographer. There was a Walgreens down the street though, that did do passport photos. I asked little Adam (one of the cousins) how far Walgreens was, and he said it was in walking distance. The day was hot, and halfway there (about half a mile away) we had second thoughts about the photos. As Abby’s pics were taken, I noticed that one of the blanks on the form required her social security number. I didn’t have it handy, so told the others we’d have to return to the house first. Adam told us there was a shortcut, so we cut cross-lots. The short cut was no shorter, as we avoided climbing fences and wading through streams. Yet it did give me time to think, “Hmm, we are passing through Canada on this trip. The Post office requires that I send in Abby’s passport to get a new one. It will not be completed for three weeks. I’d better not renew the passport just yet, or we’ll never be able to get over the Canadian border…” A few weeks later, we’d already passed through five more states and Canada, and were about to fly back to the Philippines. After checking in our bags, the airline clerk stated, “Your paperwork is all complete, but Abigail will need to stay behind in the USA.” HUH? We couldn’t travel to the other side of the globe and leave our ten-year-old daughter behind! The woman continued, “No longer does the Philippines require visitors to have passports that are good for four months. Now the requirement is a passport good for the next six months.” We explained that we could not travel without our daughter, so the woman said she’d call the Philippines to see if they could get approval. As we waited in the terminal the next two hours, Elvie, PJ, Abigail and I held hands in a circle and prayed, “Lord, please soften the hearts of the immigration officials to let Abby through.” The Chinese clerk came over to where we were seated and told us, “We have approval from Hong Kong to let you in, but since it is nighttime in the Philippines and their airport is smaller, nobody is answering their phones there. Are you willing to stay for awhile in Hong Kong until this is solved?” We said yes (at least it would get us closer to our destination), and a few hours were on the 14-hour plane trip to Hong Kong. On the flight we weighed our options. We could stay with friends in Hong Kong, but I would miss my Ironman race in a few days. That would be ok though, as long as we could stay together as a family. Once we arrived in Hong Kong, a Mandarin stewardess was there to greet us with a sing held up, “ABIGAIL BARNER”. Following her instructions, we walked to the other end of the airport to that airline’s desk. There, the personnel did not seem to have the complete info, so as I waited, Elvie and the kids sat with our carry-on luggage in the corner and prayed that God would do a miracle and get us out of Hong Kong. While waiting, I spoke with others waiting in line. “Parlez-vous français?” (do you speak French?) to a woman headed to Paris. “Oui, Oui!” (YES) she responded excitedly. I then shared with her a little about what we do in the Philippines to help poor kids, and also about our trip to Paris a few years ago. Then twenty minutes later, to a team of eight guys with Indonesian passports, “Salamat datang!” Yet, about six hours later as we flew to the Philippines, we kept praying, “Lord. Please touch the hearts of the immigration officials to let us in, even though Abby’s passport is only good for another four months!” After landing in Manila, Philippines, we headed to the Immigration counter. The clerk checked each of our passports and did not seem to notice the date on Abby’s. “ARRIVAL” he stamped on each passport. Yay, God, again! When we had been on the plane in Hong Kong, the flight was delayed four hours. This meant that we missed our connecting flight to CamSur Philippines for my Ironman race. Once in Manila, we re-booked tickets for a few days later (so I would not miss my race: but PJ and Abby missed their IronKids race though), and therefore had the time to pop into the Embassy and file for Abby’s new passport. In the Philippines, they require more documentation than they do in the USA, and the papers that we had with us were just copies, not originals. Again we prayed, “Please, Lord, let them approve the passport without the needed originals.” The lady called Abby into the questioning room and was able to find Abby’s files on her computer. In lieu of the newly-required pictures for each year since Abby’s last passport was released, she had us swear that we are her parents and that all the info is correct. When we got back to our hotel room, we thought back to the chain of events that had transpired since that day in Ohio a month before. What if Adam had not suggested the short cut, and what if we’d applied for the passport back then and what if it had not arrived in time for our flight, and what if we’d never gone through Canada? What if that flight had not been delayed in Hong Kong, and what if we had not been able to renew Abby’s passport? What if, what if, what if? God is soooo perfect in His dealings with us, that we never have to ask, “what if?” Until next time… Let the islands rejoice! Present need: $650 for tables for BLC’s Industrial Arts class. Please pray: (as you stay on your knees, we’ll stay on our feet!)
Praise God:
Status of $30,000 needed for 21 passenger jeepneys to replace three of our overcrowded BLC 10 passenger multicabs: $2790 received, $27,210 left to go! Five of the present seven BLC vehicles are dangerously overcrowded. BLC Children still waiting for sponsors: 8. U-TUBE VIDEO: http://www.facebook.com/l/18d86KnHHzRi6l6ShQ9WhcO9tPA/www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Q_eDyelVCY AUDIO PRESENTATION (NEW YORK): |
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| 8/12/2011 | BACK IN THE PHILIPPINES “”Please pray for Butch!” While on the train to New York City, my cell phone rang. A friend from Michigan asked me to pray for a buddy who was having heart surgery the next day. Right after hanging up the phone, Elvie, PJ, Abby and I held hands and prayed for Butch. Opening our eyes, I could see many passengers staring at us. The woman sitting next to Abby exclaimed, “Wow, you are Christians! Can you pray for me too?” Her friend Debbie shared, “We’ve been trying to convince Cynthia for the longest time to take a vacation from her job working with behavior-disabled kids. Once she said yes, she meets you!” “It is a sign from God,” Cynthia said, “That I did the right thing. He sent His angels to look after me.” When PJ and Abby prayed for her and sang a song for her on the train, many droll faces of those in neighboring seats suddenly beamed with smiles. Isn’t it just like God to give us the opportunity, on a commuter train, of all places, to shine with the light of Jesus! Until next time… Let the islands rejoice! Present need: $60,000 for the first floor of our new building, which (after funds arrive) will be built in the location of the present BLC gym. Please pray:
Praise God:
Status of $30,000 needed for 21 passenger jeepneys to replace three of our overcrowded BLC 10 passenger multicabs: $2785 received, $27,215 left to go! Five of the present seven BLC vehicles are dangerously overcrowded. BLC Children still waiting for sponsors: 8. U-TUBE VIDEO: http://www.facebook.com/l/18d86KnHHzRi6l6ShQ9WhcO9tPA/www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Q_eDyelVCY AUDIO PRESENTATION (NEW YORK): www.pineviewonline.org/paul-barner-visits-pineview-with-a-blc-philippines-update/ |
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| 7/5/2011 | RENSSELAER, NEW YORK, USA “Yay! I got a flat tire! Thank you Lord!” In my morning bike run, I had just a few hours to ride before we had to hit the road for our next speaking engagement. Yet halfway through our run, I pulled off the road to change my tire. Earlier that morning, Elvie, PJ, Abby and I had our family devotions and we read in 1 Peter that when tribulations come to us, we should trust God and hope in His perfect plan for our lives. “Hmm, well I have never changed a tire on this new bicycle, and I have an Ironman race in two weeks. God may be training me for the race…” Sure enough, God’s training wasn’t finished yet. The pump broke, so I figured out how to pump up the tire with a broken pump. “Great that it happened now, and not in the middle of the race!” And yet the lessons continued to come throughout the day. A few hours later, after picking up mine and PJ’s new glasses at Walmart, we hit the road. “Wow,” PJ said, with these glasses everything is so CLEAR! I can see the leaves on the trees! I can read that license plate and the words on that Speed limit sign!” Not only was PJ seeing things clear, but we were too. Passing through a hail storm, I pulled off the highway to get gas. The station had a sign, “FREE COFFEE TODAY!” After pouring my hazelnut/vanilla free coffee, the hail had stopped and I thought, “Ah, thanks God. Today’s training is good. I can see you clearer, just as PJ sees clearer with his new glasses.” Four families were waiting at our speaking engagement that evening, but they were going to have to wait. A hundred miles down the road, when we came to a toll booth, suddenly Dad’s 1995 station wagon which he’d lent us, stalled and refused to restart. “I’ll call the tow truck” suggested the toll booth collector. Two hours later we were on our way to the repair garage in the tow truck. “Daddy, God is still teaching us, isn’t He?” I wondered what the lesson could be, but it was clearer when Henry, our tow truck driver, joined in on a song we were singing. He said that his day had been going pretty lousy before he met us, yet we seemed to brighten up his life. After we’d paid the tow bill he stated, “Hope your day gets better!” We waited another hour for our contact (Harry) to drive an hour up to where we were so we could ride an hour further to the Bible study, already waiting. The next day a call came from the garage that the car was finished. It was the timing belt, not the starter. Harry drove me to the garage, and the family agreed to meet us two hours later at a restaurant on the way. Yet we were not prepared for the shock we got once we arrived at the garage. The hood was up (“not a good sign” said Harry), and the top was taken off of the engine (DEFINITELY not a good sign). “Sorry,” said Jim, but it looks as if your car has died. Should we junk it for you?” Whoa. Well, God is ALWAYS in control! After calling dad, he decided to drive down to tow the car back home. Meanwhile Harry drove me to the restaurant. The others hadn’t arrived yet, so we called Hertz for a rental car. “Sorry, but we have only compact cars available, and you need a 24-hour reservation for them. Plus the rental places are ten miles from you, fifteen miles, and seven.” I called the main office and they reserved a midsized car. But how would I fit the bicycle in it to drive to the airport next Monday? And they wanted to charge over $1,000… Checking the GPS, I saw that there was a Hertz place right across the street from the restaurant! God was doing His handiwork again! When we got to Hertz, a perfect-sized white car was parked right in front of the store. “Oh, Harry, now THAT car, the one with the Virginia plates, is the one that would be perfect!” At the inside counter, the clerk (Christian) was settling another customer’s wrongly-chosen vehicle. When it was my turn, I asked, “Do you have a larger model available?” To our surprise, Christian said, “you know, that white Virginia car just landed in our lap. Would it be okay? And by the way, you’ll save $400 for this larger vehicle, since it wasn’t the one you originally ordered…” Boy, God is sooo good! So God, it was a day full of trusting in You. Our morning devotional stated that when tribulations (a flat tire, a broken air pump, a dead car, a hail storm, an overpriced, tiny rental car, etc.) come across our path, we should not try to second-guess God’s intents, but instead to trust in Him. God, you NEVER let us down! Until next time… Let the islands rejoice! Present need: $300 for 100 tambourines for BLC’s new tambourine troupe. Please pray:
Praise God:
Status of $30,000 needed for 21 passenger jeepneys to replace three of our overcrowded BLC 10 passenger multicabs: $2780 received, $27,220 left to go! Five of the present seven BLC vehicles are dangerously overcrowded. BLC Children still waiting for sponsors: 12. U-TUBE VIDEO: http://www.facebook.com/l/18d86KnHHzRi6l6ShQ9WhcO9tPA/www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Q_eDyelVCY AUDIO PRESENTATION (NEW YORK): www.pineviewonline.org/paul-barner-visits-pineview-with-a-blc-philippines-update/ |
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| 7/28/2011 | RENSSELAER, NEW YORK, USA “Never forget that you are a missionary on BOTH sides of the ocean, not just in the Philippines.” Just over a decade ago, at the beginning of our Philippine ministry, we visited the USA. Friends here reminded Elvie and I that as missionaries, we are sharing the Gospel message of salvation wherever we go on the planet. Missionaries do a whole lot of traveling. In these past two months, we have driven and flown over 20,000 miles, halfway around the globe. We have spoken in churches to over a thousand people, and visited dozens of restaurants, stores, civic clubs and homes. Just this week, we were driving to see a friend. He sends toothbrushes and toothpaste through us to poor kids in the Philippines. Since we were to be about half an hour early, we stopped at a restaurant for breakfast. “Let’s bring in our Bibles so that we can have family devotions while waiting for the food to be served,” Elvie suggested. So after ordering, we read a chapter from the book of James. After discussing the chapter together, we each took a turn to pray. Halfway through the meal, one of the cooks came out and handed a stuffed animal to Abigail. “Here,” he said, “this is for you. It matches your shirt!” How excited we were (and especially Abigail). “Look,” Elvie stated, “God is showing us that He is pleased with us spending some time with Him this morning in family devotions.” “What will we name your new, colorful stuffed elephant?” asked PJ. I suggested, “Why don’t you call him DEVO, since God gave him to you during our devotional time?” Abigail responded, “Oh no, Daddy. My elephant is a girl. Let’s call her DIVA…or better yet, DEVELEPHANT!” So, every morning and evening, when we have our family devotional time, all five of us are together: me, Elvie, PJ, Abigail, and Develephant. And on those rare occasions when we have our family time together at a restaurant, we are reminded that the cooks, waitresses, and even the other customers might just be listening in! Until next time… Let the islands rejoice! Present need: $535 for a solar-powered 20 gallon rooftop-installed hot water tank for BLC. Please pray:
Praise God:
Status of $30,000 needed for 21 passenger jeepneys to replace three of our overcrowded BLC 10 passenger multicabs: $2775 received, $27,225 left to go! Five of the present seven BLC vehicles are dangerously overcrowded. BLC Children still waiting for sponsors: 13. U-TUBE VIDEO: http://www.facebook.com/l/18d86KnHHzRi6l6ShQ9WhcO9tPA/www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Q_eDyelVCY AUDIO PRESENTATION (NEW YORK): www.pineviewonline.org/paul-barner-visits-pineview-with-a-blc-philippines-update/ REMAINING 2011 FURLOUGH SCHEDULE
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| 7/21/2011 | RENSSELAER, NEW YORK, USA BLC UPDATE: PRAISE GOD! THANKS FOR PRAYING! BLC CONTINUES TO RUN CLASSES AS THE REFILING OF NEW PAPERWORK WITH THE GOVERNMENT IS UNDERWAY. ALSO THE FAMILIES OF BLC KIDS CONTINUE TO BE HEAVILY INVOLVED WITH THE CHURCH WORK, DISCIPLESHIP MEETINGS AND WORSHIP. KEEP PRAYING! “Do you hear something?” Just after crossing the border into Tennessee, a very loud clanking sound could be heard from underneath the van. I kind of figured it was the van’s tailpipe. This concerned me, since we have a hole in our gas tank. If sparks were to hit the gas, we could become human fireworks. Just then I noticed a repair shop, and drove to the next exit to see what they could do. Sending Elvie and the kids to walk to a nearby K-Mart, I crawled under the van with one of the mechanics. “I could hear you coming from a mile away” he quipped. “Here’s your problem,” he pointed out, “Your tailpipe is hitting against the drivetrain since it pulled loose from your muffler. How about driving over to the parts store down the street and getting a new clamp and extender for your short tailpipe?” I was concerned, since our cash was low. So I whispered a silent prayer. “Lord, please do a miracle now.” One of the other mechanics started talking with me while the first was taking measurements. “Where you headed?” he asked. I explained that we are missionaries and traveling thousands of miles across the Eastern USA to thank those who are sponsoring the 500 poor kids in our school in the Philippines. Once he heard that we are religious, he said, “My brother did some research and predicted that the comet that passed by last week was the same one mentioned in the Old Testament. Prophesies say that the comet begins a timeline which will usher in the return of Jesus to Earth…this September!” I responded, tongue-in-cheek, “Well then, if Jesus is coming back in September, you only need make this muffler clamp good for the next two months. After that, I won’t be around to worry about it!” Surprisingly, after our brief conversation, the first mechanic didn’t give me the measurements. Instead, he asked me to pull over the other side of the garage, over a worker’s pit. He, two other workers (all smoking cigarettes) and I stood underneath the van looking up at the tailpipe which needed to be re-attached. “Looks like a welding job could take care of this nicely,” he quipped. As he was about to light the welder, I suggested, “Uh, sir, there IS a hole in our fuel tank.” Boy, did those men jump! The welder immediately removed his finger from the welding torch (but none of them put out their cigarettes). “Hmmm… guess we won’t be doing any welding then! Fourth of July is already passed. No need to become a fireworks display!” As the workers went about their business elsewhere, I climbed into the van to catch up on some paperwork and call a friend through the computer, to reconfirm our next stop. I heard some tools banging under the van, so put away my stuff and decided to take a peek at the progress. When I stood in the oil pit, I looked up to see a shiny new clamp and extender attached securely to the tailpipe and muffler.”Whoooeee,” I thought, “Bet that will cost me. I wonder how much? “Sir,” I asked one of the workers, “Could you please also fill up the air in the tires? They’re getting a bit low.” Meanwhile I peeked into my bag in the van to see what cash I did have. Another worker peeped into the van (the “comet-man”) and assured me, “Oh, don’t worry. There’s no charge!” I asked, “But what about the clamp?” He just shook his head as he replied, “That’s ok. No charge at all!” I breathed a prayer of thanks to God and also asked the mechanics if I could pray for the shop and its workers. They obliged and we prayed together in a small circle. A few minutes later I found Elvie and the kids in the aisles of K-Mart. Elvie asked in a worried voice, “So how much did it cost?” A huge smile spread across her face as I made a “zero” sign with my fingers. Yay, God! By the way, that clamp held so securely that, four states and Canada later, when the clamp came loose from the other side of the muffler, all I needed was to climb under the van and slide a medium-sized pork-and-beans can on it to make it quiet again. Until next time… Let the islands rejoice! Present need: $294 for 21 desk-chairs, at $14 each. Please pray:
Praise God:
Status of $30,000 needed for 21 passenger jeepneys to replace three of our overcrowded BLC 10 passenger multicabs: $2770 received, $27,230 left to go! Five of the present seven BLC vehicles are dangerously overcrowded. BLC Children still waiting for sponsors: 13. |
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| 7/14/2011 | FLINT, MICHIGAN, USA BLC UPDATE: PRAISE GOD! IN ANSWER TO YOUR PRAYERS, GOD HAS LED THE PHILIPPINE GOVERNMENT TO RECONSIDER BLC’S NEW CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS. THEY HAVE PROMISED TO WORK TOGETHER WITH US TO GRADUALLY COMPLY WITH THEIR NEW GUIDELINES INSTEAD OF EXPECTING AN OVERNIGHT COMPLIANCE. HOWEVER, THREE OTHER SCHOOLS HAVE ALREADY CLOSED DUE TO INABILITY TO DEVELOP A PLAN OF AGREEMENT. ONE OF THE MAJOR REQUIREMENTS IS INCREASED LAND FOR SPORTS TEAMS. ANOTHER REQUIREMENT IS RETESTING OF ALL OUR STUDENTS SINCE 2009, DUE TO A MISTAKE OF OUR SECRETARY WHEN SHE FILED THE WRONG FORMS FOR THE PAST FEW YEARS. PLEASE KEEP PRAYING FOR OUR STAFF AS THEY WORK WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION IN THIS MATTER. “Chuggy-chuggy-bump!” The bounciness was increasing on our van as we approached 197,000 miles on the odometer. Three thousand miles ago we had changed the main fuel pump after it had left us stranded in northern Pennsylvania. Yet now we were out on the “panhandle” of Florida, and each time I moved the switch over to our reserve tank, the car reminded me that the rear gas tank was on its last legs as well. “Lord, will we make it? Please send us a mechanic. We are never in one city long enough to leave the van to get this fixed, and I wonder how much it would cost?” I slowed down to wait for a traffic light, and sure enough, the van stalled again. “While you are at it God, could you also send somebody to fix the idle speed on this van? I’m concerned that I’ll overtax the starter and battery, as well as the brakes, since I have to keep my foot on the gas and brake at every traffic light.” God then spoke to me. In my conscience, I could hear Him say to me, “Trust Me, Paul. In Alabama I will replace your rear fuel pump.” For the next hundred miles, each time the van would “chuggha-chugga” at a light, or stall while going in reverse, I’d look at the GPS and say to myself, “It’s ok Paul. Only sixty more miles to Alabama.” Or, “Thirty more… twenty-six more…” While at a Bible Study 2 nights later in southern Alabama, we had a very delightful time presenting what God is doing in Davao. Afterward, the young people present took an offering to help with the work at BLC. After almost everyone had gone home, one of our new friends hung around to talk. “You know Paul, I do not have much money to help, but is there another need that you have?” I thought, “Lord, is this the answer to my prayer? Maybe he knows a mechanic. OK, I will ask.” Turning to our new friend, I shared, “There is one great concern that I have. The rear fuel pump on our van is giving out. If it dies there will be increased strain on the other one and we’ll be stranded.” Our friend’s face brightened up and in his southern drawl he quipped, “Imagine that! I have a repair shop! Can you drop off your van tomorrow?” Whoa! God is AWESOME! The next night we dropped off the van on the way to church, just as the new fuel pump was arriving from the delivery man (Our friend had already ordered it). and three hours later, when we got to our host family’s house, there was a phone call. “Your van is done!” He said. God had other surprises as well. One of the members of the Bible Study heard of our plight and paid for the pump and also for supplies for an oil and filter change! “Hope you don’t mind,” he shared, “but I changed your idle speed too. The pump was really destroyed. It was amazing you got as far as you did. God must be on your side. Much farther and it might have destroyed your main pump again…but you do have a small hole in your gas tank…” Well, God has done more than enough, getting us this far. Imagine, in three hours He accomplished what I thought would take three days! All in God’s timing. And the adventure continues… Until next time… Let the islands rejoice! Present need: $765 for 17 Wall fans for BLC’s classrooms, at $45 each. Please pray:
Praise God:
Status of $30,000 needed for 21 passenger jeepneys to replace three of our overcrowded BLC 10 passenger multicabs: $2765 received, $27,235 left to go! Five of the present seven BLC vehicles are dangerously overcrowded. BLC Children still waiting for sponsors: 16. U-TUBE VIDEO: http://www.facebook.com/l/18d86KnHHzRi6l6ShQ9WhcO9tPA/www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Q_eDyelVCY |
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| 7/7/2011 | GULF SHORES, ALABAMA, USA HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY, USA! (7/4) URGENT PRAYER REQUEST: THE PHILIPPINE GOVERNMENT HAS JUST NOTIFIED MANY SCHOOLS IN DAVAO CITY THAT THEY HAVE TO CLOSE DOWN IMMEDIATELY, DUE TO A REVISION IN EACH SCHOOL’S PAPERWORK AND LANDHOLDING REQUIREMENTS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION. PLEASE PRAY THAT THEY DO NOT JEOPARDIZE OUR SCHOOL, DUE TO OUR BEING OUT OF THE COUNTRY AND THEREFORE NOT ABLE TO PERSONALLY FOLLOW-UP ON THEIR NEWLY-REQUESTED FORMS. “If only we could find a Filipino…” As we have been traveling through the USA, we have collected donations of books, clothes, and other things for the kids in the Philippines. However, even with the large van we are using, we needed to ship some of the items to the Philippines, to make room in the van for more. Since the Postal Service’s prices are extremely high for sending these items to international addresses, we planned on using the special Philippine worldwide shipping service (“Balik Bayan”). A very large balik bayan box ships for just around $100. The challenge is that typically the only access to this shipping service is through Filipinos who know local shippers. Since we are travelling to so very many locations during this 3-month furlough, we keep our eyes trained to look for Filipinos. After visiting friends in Florida, we decided to cancel two of our destinations, which were only places and people to visit, and not actual speaking engagements. We therefore hit the road west, to go toward Alabama. It was Sunday morning, and we planned on popping into a church on the way. As it was getting close to eleven in the morning, I saw a church off the side of the highway. Yet since it had no cross on its steeple, I was not sure if it was a house of worship which believed in Jesus. Deciding to go and check it out, I took the exit. But the road off the exit ramp did not go directly to the church. It hit another highway which connected to another main road, which looped around back toward the crossless-steepled-church. Suddenly, about to turn the van onto the side road, I looked off to my left and saw a 199-foot tall, giant white cross just a block away, piercing the clouds (we found out that, were they to build 200-ft or more, they needed to put a blinking red light at the top of it for low–flying planes). “Hey look, kids…a giant cross!” Then I thought, “Hey, Paul, look! At the foot of the cross, there is always hope!” So I turned the other way toward the giant cross. Sure enough, there was a church, right at its base. Pulling into the parking lot on the dot of eleven, I passed a sign which proclaimed the two morning worship times: 8:30 and 11! Finding our seats in a pew, the congregation was just finishing up the American National Anthem. One by one, the choir led in patriotic songs. My eyes moistened when we sang “This is my country, land that I love,” and later, “God bless America, my home, sweet home.” We live more out of the USA than in it, as missionaries. So to hear the God-centered patriotic hymns reminded me once again that after all those years on and off of being on foreign soil, I was really home. After a very inspiring biblical message, the service closed and an elder introduced us to the pastor. “You are missionaries to the Philippines! That is great! You know, we have a few dozen Filipinos in our early service, who have a lunch fellowship right now in our fellowship hall!” A deacon led us across the parking lot, and there we met a whole crowd of delightful Filipinos, who introduced us with open arms since we are reaching out to their country, which they are away from, and pray for regularly. While the patriotic anthems brought me back to thoughts of my country, the sight of missionaries (like us) from the Philippines reminded them of their country. And sure enough, not too long afterward, we had two balik bayan boxes on their way to the ship for sending off to the Philippines! God sees us and prepares the way for us every step of our journey on this planet! Until next time… Let the islands rejoice! Present need: $650 for tables for BLC’s Industrial Arts class. Please pray:
Praise God:
Status of $30,000 needed for 21 passenger jeepneys to replace three of our overcrowded BLC 10 passenger multicabs: $2760 received, $27,240 left to go! Five of the present seven BLC vehicles are dangerously overcrowded. BLC Children still waiting for sponsors: 18. |
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| 7/1/2011 | KISSIMMEE, FLORIDA USA HAPPY 14TH BIRTHDAY, PJ! (6/29)/ HAPPY 15TH ANNIVERSARY, PAUL AND ELVIE! (7/6) USA furlough cell phone # (518) 368-0696 “Hello? Why can’t you hear me?” Before we left Dad and Mom in Pennsylvania and drove down south, Dad lent me his cell phone to use for the next six weeks of our furlough. “Hope this helps,” he said, “It has over 2,000 minutes of unused airtime stored in it!” However, after passing through Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina, a glitch began in the phone. Every once in a while in South Carolina, I could hear the one I was calling, but they couldn’t hear me. Attempts to transfer the 2200 minutes of stored airtime to another phone were unsuccessful. “What should I do, God?” I asked. We did get an internet adaptor for the laptop computer, and were able to hook up the Magic Jack telephone to it as we travelled. But it was complicated to set up each time we needed to use the phone, and did not work in many rural locations. Then, when we arrived in Georgia, suddenly I noticed that the cellphone was GONE! My guess was that it fell out of my pocket in a rest area over a hundred miles before. Attempts to call the cellphone from the computer phone were unsuccessful. Another challenge was that, with all the shopping for internet adaptors, etc., we were not going to make it to our next destination before the wee hours of the morning. So I decided to call our friends at Habitat for Humanity (where we were scheduled to stay) and tell them we’d arrive the next day. I tried driving through the night, but after a hundred miles, when I got tired and my eyes started to blur, doubling the road lines 2 am, we pulled into a gas station and the four of us slept in the van. During our visit with friends in Georgia, I shared with a group of a dozen homeschoolers about the floods at BLC, and that “Our dis-appointments are often His-appointments (God’s): change one letter from D to H, and it all makes sense.” We then headed hundreds of miles on down to Florida. Since the van has no air conditioning, we stopped at a grocery store and bought a Styrofoam cooler, fill it up with ice and left the lid off until the ice melted. Also, since the GPS we are using is over a decade old, it often sends us onto dead-end roads and gets us lost, avoiding new time-saving highways. Arriving at a friend’s place in Florida, we were treated to an update of our GPS (online) and also I was brought to Wal-Mart for a new cell phone. The lady at the counter had to stay on the phone for half an hour waiting for the airtime to be loaded, and she was even able to use some of her lunch break to stay on the clock and transfer the 2,000 minutes of airtime from the lost phone to the new one. Also, of course, the new phone worked fine. The first person I called on it was Dad in New York, to let him know that he has a brand new phone when we return to the Philippines…with no airtime lost! An added treat for me was that, since the Wal-Mart lady was waiting half an hour on the phone for the cell phone company to load the airtime, I was able to share with her about miracles God has done through BLC in the Philippines, and also about how God has provided salvation for all of those who come to Him with a repentant heart! My disappointments: the lost cell phone, the outdated GPS, sleeping in the van, etc…they were all part of God’s appointment for that woman to hear the precious Gospel of Jesus Christ. Had we arrived just a few minutes later, she would have been on lunch break and I never would have shared the Good news about Jesus with her. God is soooo awesome! Until next time… Let the islands rejoice! Present need: $60,000 for the first floor of our new building, which (after funds arrive) will be built in the location of the present BLC gym. Please pray:
Praise God:
Status of $30,000 needed for 21 passenger jeepneys to replace three of our overcrowded BLC 10 passenger multicabs: $2755 received, $27,245 left to go! Five of the present seven BLC vehicles are dangerously overcrowded. BLC Children still waiting for sponsors: 18. U-TUBE VIDEO: http://www.facebook.com/l/18d86KnHHzRi6l6ShQ9WhcO9tPA/www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Q_eDyelVCY |
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| 6/23/2011 | PINEHURST, NORTH CAROLINA USA “Is Daddy going to jail?” Abby was concerned when two police cars pulled up on the highway behind our parked van. We were stranded while driving to the funeral of my uncle in New York. This furlough has seen a few pretty nice situations, which actually had arisen out of disappointments. Take last week, for instance. While in training for the next Ironman Triathlon (August-Philippines), I was on a 10-mile bicycle loop. Suddenly at my side I felt something. Turning while keeping my hands on the handlebars, I came face-to-face with a very large white dog, which was running alongside my bicycle. Was he going to bite me? Was he to run across my path and cause an accident? There was no way to outpace it, so I just befriended it. For the next mile, he was my “traveling companion” as I chatted and he panted. Then there was the funeral itself. My dear Uncle Jack died, of all times, right in the midst of our furlough. However, due to the perfect timing of his death, we not only were in the correct country, on the correct continent, in the correct state, at the correct time, to attend the funeral, but the church at which the funeral was held is a supporting church for our ministry and many who were at that church for the funeral sponsor students in BLC. We got to see them and thank them for their prayers. Yet now, this 25-year old van we were using for furlough had suddenly stopped running in the middle of a long bridge, on the side of a busy highway in the middle of nowhere, in the pouring rain, two hours from where we were staying. What good could be found in this situation? Yet God, as always, has every tiny detail under His control. Dad and Mom were also returning from the funeral and driving right behind us. Since the van broke down on a bridge, I got out and peered over the edge. On the road way, way down below, a policeman in his patrol car saw me standing on the bridge and drove the five miles to the next exit to find out what was wrong. Since Dad’s cell phone had died, and since we were not carrying one, the policeman was able to call a tow truck to bring us to a shop for overnight repairs. Dad and Mom accompanied us to the repair shop, and drove us back the two hours where we were staying. The next day they drove me back those two hours to pick up the van. It had blown a fuel pump. The very best aspect of this situation was that, had the fuel pump died anywhere else on our travels, it would have caused major mischief. We have many speaking engagements and many thousands of miles travel to make. But due to the timing of the breakdown, we were just a few miles from a repair shop and Dad and Mom were with us, to bring us back home. God is really great. He always makes sure that every single detail of our life falls into place perfectly according to his plan (Romans 8:28)! Until next time… Present need: $300 for 100 tambourines for BLC’s new tambourine troupe. Please pray:
Praise God:
Status of $30,000 needed for 21 passenger jeepneys to replace three of our overcrowded BLC 10 passenger multicabs: $2750 received, $27,250 left to go! Five of the present seven BLC vehicles are dangerously overcrowded. BLC Children still waiting for sponsors: 20. U-TUBE VIDEO: http://www.facebook.com/l/18d86KnHHzRi6l6ShQ9WhcO9tPA/www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Q_eDyelVCY 2011 FURLOUGH SCHEDULE
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| 6/16/2011 | Trenton, New Jersey, USA “Oops. there is no room at the inn!" when Elvie and I checked the internet for housing at the Ironman triathlon in Maryland (USA), it looked as if all the hotel rooms were fully booked. This was no surprise, since over 2100 competitors (as well as thousands of spectators) were descending upon the city for the race. "Don't worry." Elvie suggested. "There are always little hotels available that do not advertise on the internet." After our six flights (Davao-Manila-Hong Kong-San Francisco-Las Vegas-Salt Lake City) had landed us in Utah for a few days, we received an email from a sponsor of one of our BLC children. The sponsor and her family were requesting that we pop in to see them while in Maryland. We called, asking them if maybe we could stay overnight with them. They were ecstatic that we'd be seeing them, and that took care of night #1 of our three nights in Maryland. One down, two to go! In fact, their 3 kids got along so well with our PJ and Abigail, that it was a challenge for us to finally leave! After staying with our friends the first night, the dad in the family helped me to reassemble my bicycle for the race. We Barners then said goodbye as we drove the rental car the next hour and a half to the race briefing location. After the briefing, we drove around, trying to find a place to stay for the night. No hotel could be found. We were all getting so tired, that I was even considering knocking on the doors of every house until someone would take us in for the night. We drove about a dozen miles out of town, finding nothing. Finally, about halfway back to the city, I noticed a church with a school attached. There was a car in the parking lot, and I prayed, "Oh Lord, please convince these good church people to put us up for the night!" The door of the church just happened to be unlocked, and I walked in to investigate. On the second floor was a sweet ninety year old woman, who invited me in. "Excuse me ma'am, but I am in an extremely long race early tomorrow morning and have no place for my family and I to sleep. Do you have any ideas?" Within just a few minutes she had a church elder put us up in one of the apartments of the teachers of the school! Since classes were already out for the summer, the apartment was temporarily vacant. God is sooooo awesome! At the next day's seven-hour-long race, our friends from Upstate Maryland came to watch me cross the finish line, and we ended up saying goodbye to our new ninety-year-old church friend, as we stayed with the BLC sponsor family for our third night in Maryland. Yay, God! You provided a place for us to stay (and it wasn't even in a stable), when there was "no room at the inn!" By the way, although I was still recovering from jetlag, and while trying to get used to my new bicycle, I still did pretty well in the race. Now my next Ironman is in August, back in the Philippines. We already have lodging reservations for the duration of THAT race! Until next time… Let the islands rejoice! Present need: $535 for a solar-powered 20-gallon rooftop-installed hot water supply tank for BLC.
Praise God:
Status of $30,000 needed for 21 passenger jeepneys to replace three of our overcrowded BLC 10 passenger multicabs: $2745 received, $27,255 left to go! Five of the present seven BLC vehicles are dangerously overcrowded. BLC Children still waiting for sponsors: 20. |
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| 6/9/2011 | Diary June 9, 2011 2011 EAGLEMAN IRONMAN 70.3 TRIATHLON, USA (6/12) “When do we eat?” With tears in his eyes, s skinny 4-year-old boy tugged on the sleeve of a BLC teacher during this week’s Vacation Bible School. “Pleeeeaaase? I am sooo hungry. Can I please have something to eat?” Smiles were finally on the faces of all the children three hours later, when the hundreds of VBS kids finished singing, Bible stories, missions focus, crafts and games, for it was then that the snacks were served. “If we feed the kids when they arrive,” shared a VBS worker, “The kids will go home early and skip the rest of the VBS.” Yet as we discussed the shortened attention span of the hungry kids, it was made obvious that the serving of 2 snacks was a much better idea: Feed the kids when they arrive, and they will want to arrive early. Feed the kids when they finish the morning’s events, and they will stay (and enjoy) the whole 3-hour-long VBS. VBS was only two days long this year, since BLC’s first day of classes was fast approaching and the school teachers had to prepare their classrooms for the “Big Day” of Orientation. On Tuesday (the last day of VBS), since I am president of BLC, Kiwanis and DCL, I was invited to a meeting sponsored by the National Nutrition Council. We learned that in the Philippines, three of every ten children are malnourished (35%). Over half of these kids die before reaching adulthood. Since the formative years of the brain are most foundational before the child is five years old, these kids’ learning capacities are greatly reduced when undernourished. That same afternoon, as president of Kiwanis, I shared with our club during their regularly-scheduled meeting that VADD*, IDA*, and IDD* (see below) are the three major focuses of nutritional intervention, besides just filling empty bellies. All three of these are focuses of our Kiwanis club. The very next Saturday, we were to feed those 300 poor patients who attended our community medical/dental clinic in an open-air community gym. After Tuesday’s meetings were finished, our family went out to eat with some of the VBS staff. “So, how did it go with having two snacks instead of one, today?” I asked. Both adults and kids agreed that the kids were more responsive and some even decided to give their lives to Jesus, accepting Him as their personal Lord and Savior. After the American VBS team finished at BLC, they headed out to the jungle to do another VBS. Learning from the two-day BLC experience, they’ll be sure to have lots of food (bananas, bread and juice) for those jungle kids! *VADD,IDA & IDD: Vitamin A Deficiency Disorder (CURE: Vit. A added to sugar and chocolate), Iron Deficiency Anemia (CURE: Iron added to rice), & Iodine Deficiency Disorder (CURE: Iodine added to salt). Until next time… Let the islands rejoice! Present need: $448 for 32 desk-chairs, at $14 each. Please pray:
Praise God:
Status of $30,000 needed for 21 passenger jeepneys to replace three of our overcrowded BLC 10 passenger multicabs: $2740 received, $27,260 left to go! Five of the present seven BLC vehicles are dangerously overcrowded. BLC Children still waiting for sponsors: 20. |
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| 6/20/2011 | Diary June 2, 2011 PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE DAY (6/12) "God told me to start a school.” Fourteen years ago in 1997 I informed Elvie that we needed to build a bridge of understanding to the community in which we lived. The purpose of this “bridge” would be to draw our neighbors to church. That bridge was to be a school. So a few months later in 1998 we founded the Barner Learning Center. 37 students. Elvie was the tool that God used to assist it, within the next 13 years, to grow in size and effectiveness to reach 500 students. Often God reminds us that we were correct in following His leading into this direction. This morning was one of those “reminding” times. That reminder came in the form of a fresh scar on the cheek. Not on my face, but on that of the interpreter of our guest speaker at church. Delloyd and his family had come with a team from the USA on a short-term missions trip, to Davao. Delloyd’s wife Lanei is a Filipina. A few years ago she was challenged by BLC’s example to start a Christian school just like BLC in her hometown. She was born in a mountainous, jungle area (like Elvie was), about an hour from BLC. Lanei’s relatives carried out her directions as she communicated by email with them. She progressively, from across the ocean, explained by BLC’s example, how to build a school building, how to get permission from the multitude of government offices, and how to choose and hire good Christian teachers. Yet when their classes began, the 30 students had no water. An American church sent funds for the new school to dig a well. After the well was dug, a neighbor complained that it was overflowing water onto her property. Many came to attack Lanei’s brother, Pastor Lito. They beat him up. With a weak smile he exclaimed, “I am suffering for Jesus” as blood dripped down his face. Lanei’s family dug a canal. The neighbor wanted to sue them. Lanei’s people re-surveyed the land and God performed a miracle. The government surveyor found that the boundaries had been mis-measured. The new school not only owned the property that the well was on, but also owned a long stretch, 35-feet wide, including the area surrounding the new irrigation canal! As our speaker continued this Sunday morning, he quoted the Apostle Paul’s words about persecution. I looked at the fresh scar on the cheek of Delloyd’s interpreter, Pastor Lito. Yes Elvie, it truly WAS the voice of God that had given us the vision way back in 1997, to start a Christian school. For now, other believers are planting Christian schools across this section of Mindanao, to reach the 3 million elementary school students for Jesus. They started these schools because we had showed them that, no matter how impossible it may seem, when you follow God’s direction, anything is possible for you. Until next time… Let the islands rejoice! Present need: $765 for 17 Wall fans for BLC’s classrooms, at $45 each. Please pray:
Praise God:
Status of $30,000 needed for 21 passenger jeepneys to replace three of our overcrowded BLC 10 passenger multicabs: $2735 received, $27,265 left to go! Five of the present seven BLC vehicles are dangerously overcrowded. BLC Children still waiting for sponsors: 20. |
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| 5/26/2011 | Diary May 19, 2011 MEMORIAL DAY- USA (5/30). "The chalk was wet!” Years ago, when a friend’s two children were staying with us for a few months, I was surprised when the little boy and girl came back home from school just an hour after leaving. They explained that, due to the rainy season, humidity had taken its toll on the public school’s chalk. Since most Filipino chalkboards are not made of slate, but rather are just a section of the wall painted green, wet chalk just refuses to respond as it ought to. A decade and a half later, our own school (BLC) was cancelled for a week due to excessive humidity. But the cancellation was not due only to wet chalk. Rather, flood waters had deluged the classrooms and school supplies with mud, brown water and wormy trash which had floated in from the refuse canal. Our chalk was not just wet: it was DISSOLVED. Since flooding is a perennial problem in the tropical island nation of the Philippines, we annually experience knee-deep torrents (or deeper) flowing through BLC’s hallowed halls. Being a concerned citizen, I have presented proposals of flood elimination techniques countless times in community meetings. One of these meetings were even held in BLC’s gym. “Why not dig out the years of residue from the canal with shovels?” I suggested. One year we hired sea gypsies (“Badjaos”) to dig the 8-feet of sediment out of the supposed-to-be 17-foot deep canal. After half a day of digging, the Badjaos found that it was more profitable to go from house-to-house in the neighborhood and beg…to the chagrin of our neighbors. Another year we asked our bus drivers to work overtime and dig. They tuckered out. So I put on boots and grabbed a shovel. Neighbors, noticing an American hard at work, wanted to dig by my side. That worked great for a few days. But then I got sunstroke and was laid-up for a week. The digging ceased without me there to provide a positive role model. Later I convinced the Kiwanis Club to petition the fire department for usage of their water hose and truck to wash out the canal with high pressure. But that idea was nipped in the bud when a Chinese businessman was concerned that a neighbor downstream might sue Kiwanis for filling THEIR section of the canal with muck. So it was a pleasant surprise when, after this year’s record-breaking six floods in a row, that two government-owned backhoes drove up to the canal. After a few days of backhoe-digging, 20 workers with shovels were trucked in to work on trying to move by hand the hundreds of tons of soil and sediment from the center, hard-to-reach sections of the canal. Yay God! Now, from past experience, I am guessing that the immensity of the task of shovel-digging the canal will set in and the diggers will disappear. Yet another idea has popped into my head. What if we went ahead and got a high-powered hose and worked together with the government to move the sludge and gravel within reach of the backhoes? We could use a “hurricane-fence” to keep the coarse gravel and trash from heading downstream. And then, if there is a really, really big piece of wet chalk floating away…we can get it back! Until next time… Let the islands rejoice! Present need: $650 for tables for BLC’s Industrial Arts class. Please pray:
Praise God:
Status of $30,000 needed for 21 passenger jeepneys to replace three of our overcrowded BLC 10 passenger multicabs: $2730 received, $27,270 left to go! Five of the present seven BLC vehicles are dangerously overcrowded. BLC Children still waiting for sponsors: 20. |
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| 5/19/2011 | VICTORIA DAY (CANADA 5/23). ARMED FORCES DAY(5/21). "You're going the wrong way!" After eight months of training, BLC's triathlon team is competing this Sunday (May 22) in their very first citywide race. To prepare for the event, each child had saved up their pennies and had their final Saturday's practice at a private swimming pool, instead of in the ocean. It was different, not battling high and low tides, nor stings from plankton and jellyfish, nor dodging floating trash and coconuts. But after testing their buoyancy in fresh water instead of salt water, they were starting to get the hang of it. The swimming pool portion of the tri-competition is in the shape of a loop, with two bridges to pass under. Of BLC's forty triathletes, 23 are registered for the race. Yet during practice, our volunteer professional trainer confided in me, "Pastor Paul, your students have a great attitude, but not the best sense of direction!" To which I responded, "Felina, just entering this event is a miracle. After the race, every one of these BLC kids will consider themselves seasoned athletes. Being poor, they never before had the chance to even enter such races as this one. We don't have to be focused on how they FINISH, but just that they can really and truly START!" "Oh, that's not what I mean, Pastor. Actually, I think some of your better novices here will finish in the top three of their heats!" Whoa, what a SURPRISE! Some of these BLC kids we had found sitting on the side of the road, before enrolling them in BLC. Others had been cramped with their families in tiny shanties or tents squashed in alleys behind public markets (so they could gather the scraps to eat) and even in alleyways. But this week, they have been able to step out of the role of "poor, poverty-stricken beggar child" to "Triathlon Athlete". The fact that they are doing so awesome in their training proves that, once God gives a person the opportunity, anybody can become someone special! Until next time… Let the islands rejoice! Present need: $60,000 for the first floor of our new building, which (after funds arrive) will be built in the location of the present BLC gym. Please pray:
Praise God:
Status of $30,000 needed for 21 passenger jeepneys to replace three of our overcrowded BLC 10 passenger multicabs: $2725 received, $27,275 left to go! Five of the present seven BLC vehicles are dangerously overcrowded. BLC Children still waiting for sponsors: 20. |
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| 5/12/2011 | NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER (5/5) "Have you seen my servant Job?" While Elvie and I were attending a pastors' convention on the other end of the country, the Dutch speaker, in his heavy accent, taught from the book of Job. A good friend pastor sitting next to me mentioned, "The speaker looks like you." It seemed that not only the looks, but the message of Dr. Verduijin resembled me. "Strike everything he has" Satan challenged God. My mind wandered back to Wednesday, the day before, when our BLC secretary had sent a text message to Elvie, "It is raining hard in Davao, and BLC has another waist-deep flood. Everything in the house is floating." This was the sixth flood this year, and the third one that was between knee-high and neck deep. A few weeks ago, we moved our family's apartment from the first story to the third floor of the school. But the third-floor hall window was left open by the teachers, and gallons of water drenched our apartment’s rug. "Then Satan challenged God again," continued our Dutch speaker, "Strike his flesh and bones." Just three weeks ago, my body was racked with pain for six hours as kidney stones attacked my body. But there was more. "I know that my Redeemer lives!" claimed Job. When his friends persecuted him, he cried out, "I know that my Redeemer lives!" When pain overwhelmed his senses, he responded with, "I know that my Redeemer lives!" When all he had was taken away and he was in the poor house, he confidently added, "I know that my Redeemer lives!" Sure, there are floods. Sure, there are debts. Sure there is pain. Sure there are those who don't understand. Yet even though Elvie and I were hundreds of miles away geographically, and therefore could not be at BLC to clean up from the flood, we knew that our Gracious God had wisely provided a capable staff at BLC to do the strenuous cleanup work. Even if all else were to fall apart, our faithful God who was capable to take charge though His salvation on the cross, of the mess I's made of my life, is able to take charge of all that happens to me. Therefore I also cry out like Job, in the greatest confidence, "I know that my Redeemer lives!" Until next time… Let the islands rejoice! Present need: $300 for 100 tambourines for BLC’s new tambourine troupe. Please pray:
Praise God:
Status of $30,000 needed for 21 passenger jeepneys to replace three of our overcrowded BLC 10 passenger multicabs: $2720 received, $27,280 left to go! Five of the present seven BLC vehicles are dangerously overcrowded. BLC Children still waiting for sponsors: 20. |
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| 5/5/2011 | PHILIPPINE LABOR DAY (May 1). CINCO DE MAYO (May 5). NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER (May 5). MOTHER’S DAY (May 8). “"How long will it be before food is in the hungry babies' mouths?" I just had to ask the question. It was burning in my mind. I arrived late at the government-sponsored meeting, since that morning I attended the burial of one of our faithful Kiwanis Club members. Lots of things happened this past week. One of the BLC students who'd helped to bail out the flood waters from our school ended up with kidney trouble, due to rat residue (from the muddy water) entering his blood stream. So I visited him in the hospital. I also used BLC Emergency Medical Funds to help with some of his family's hospital bills and dialysis. Then I visited and prayed for our Kiwanis Lieutenant Governor who needs a kidney transplant, in another hospital. Also the house parent of our home for street kids (designed to keep the kids out of jail) needed my signature of authorization for the purchase of beds, etc. We later re-sorted the clothes which had been sent to us for the poor. They had been soiled by the floodwaters, so many of the ladies from the church scrubbed the clothes by hand, dried them on clotheslines, and folded them. Now the clothes needed re-sorting by sizes. After teaching a seminar on nutrition and proper health care at the Kiwanis Club Tuesday, I picked up a sack of rice donated (by a lawyer) for the poor BLC triathlon kids' after-practice lunches. Today I arrived an hour early for the funeral of our friend. While I was waiting outside the house in a chair on their lawn, the son came out and said, "Mom is asking for you..." When I went into the living room where the casket was, I noticed that the entire family was gathered around. Yet the Catholic priest had not yet arrived. Rose asked, "Could you please pray for our family before everyone arrives? And could you share with us from the Bible?" I felt privileged for the opportunity. Five hours later, I caught up with the Government-sponsored Think-tank on Malnutrition. Since I am now volunteer president of four charitable corporations that work with poor children (Kiwanis/DCL/PMBMI/BLC), I was asked to join about 30 NGO, University and Government agency heads in the day-long meeting. I know I missed a lot of the discussion, but when the microphone was passed to me, I could not help asking the question that was burning in my mind: "Could we possibly develop a chronological timeline to determine how long it will actually take before our words become food? This lunch was awesome. I am full. My stomach is full, my mind is full and my notebook is full. But...the kids are still starving." We agreed that the best way to get the problem solved will be by teamwork and planning. Yet the best way to understand the need is to start feeding the poor ourselves, right now. So on the way home, when I stopped at a red light and a beggar child knocked on my window for money, I reached over to my lunch bag and instead gave her a bite to eat. She smiled. When I got home, a delightful email was waiting for me,, from a dear friend: "I was hungry and you formed a humanities club to discuss my hunger....... Thank you.//I was imprisoned and you crept off quietly to your chapel to pray for my release....... Nice//I was naked and in your mind you debated the morality of my appearance... What good did it do ????//I was sick and you knelt and thanked God for your health... But I needed you.//I was homeless and you preached to me of the shelter of the love of God.... I wish you had taken me home.//I was lonely and you left me alone to pray for me.... Why didn't you stay with me and pray?//You seem so holy, so close to God. Yet, I am still very hungry, imprisoned, naked, sick, homeless and lonely." And then I smiled, too. Until next time… Let the islands rejoice! Present need: $300 for 100 tambourines for BLC’s new tambourine troupe. Please pray:
Praise God:
Status of $30,000 needed for 21 passenger jeepneys to replace three of our overcrowded BLC 10 passenger multicabs: $2715 received, $27,285 left to go! Five of the present seven BLC vehicles are dangerously overcrowded. BLC Children still waiting for sponsors: 20. |
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| 4/28/2011 | PALM SUNDAY (4/17), PASSOVER (4/18), GOOD FRIDAY/EARTH DAY (4/22), RESURRECTION (EASTER) SUNDAY (4/24), ADMINISTRATIVE PROFESSINALS DAY (4/27) “Where’s my bike’s tail light?” After BLC’s devastating neck-deep flood a few weeks, ago, the “Where’s my…” question has been repeated over and over again. We really lost a lot in the flood. But then, it has been a way for God to prune off things we really didn’t need…or didn’t know that we didn’t need! Helping hands of church people hand-scrubbed our clothing, blankets, curtains, towels, etc., to remove mud and flood stains. After clotheslines were strung up in nearly all the classrooms to dry out towels, clothes, papers, etc., our things were folded and placed in scattered unmarked bags, barrels and boxes all over the school. A few days ago, while I was headed downstairs, a messenger placed a paper into my hand. In big red, bold letters, the words “DISCONNECTION NOTICE” were written on the bill from our electric company. I asked the BLC treasurer how it could be that the electric bill was not paid. “I had pinned the bill on the bulletin board in my office” she explained, “But the flood torn it down and it was thrown away with the other muddy papers. Then I forgot about the bill and used the $815 set aside for it to pay for one of the school’s outstanding textbook bills. Sorry. What should we do? The electricity will be cut-off in 24 hours if we do not pay!” Of course we went right to prayer. It would be difficult to cleanup the school in the dark. Already the flood had thrown-out our telephone and internet service, which we’d done without for the past few weeks. Just a few days previous, the water had come back on. Now, were we really to have no power as well? An hour or so later, the school guard came upstairs to tell me I had a visitor. To my pleasant surprise, four of our fellow missionaries were asking for a tour of the school. An hour later (after showing them around) they handed me $120 to help with flood relief! Yay, God! But we were still lacking $695. The electric company wouldn’t take only partial payment. Still, $120 is a whole lot of money. Yay, God! A few hours later, the treasurer approached Elvie. “I feel so badly about forgetting about the electric bill” she said. “My husband agreed to loan to BLC his retirement savings, which we’d set aside to build an addition onto our home. But we do need it back as soon as possible.” After paying the electric bill, another missionary friend approached us. “God told me to help you with your flood relief.” He said. “Is $140 enough?” “Definitely” I said. “Thanks so very much. This will help with our electric bill.” When he asked how much the bill was, he said that he might be able to find the rest of the funds to pay it off for us. Before a few days had passed, not only was the electric company paid, but so was our treasurer’s husband. Once again, “Yay, God!” Some unbelievers smirk when believers claim at Easter that Jesus rose from the dead. How can a murdered messiah still be alive today? And yet they cannot argue with the fact that only a living God can perform miracles like this awesome electric bill payment. Jesus is alive! Hallelujah! Until next time… Let the islands rejoice! Present need: $535 for a solar-powered 20 gallon rooftop-installed hot water tank for BLC. Please pray:
Praise God:
Status of $30,000 needed for 21 passenger jeepneys to replace three of our overcrowded BLC 10 passenger multicabs: $2710 received, $27,290 left to go! Five of the present seven BLC vehicles are dangerously overcrowded. BLC Children still waiting for sponsors: 20. |
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| 4/21/2011 | “The Yellow Rose of Davao.” When one of BLC’s part-time cooks (Rose) experienced vaginal bleeding, she was rushed to the government hospital. Sadly however, her condition grew worse over the next week, and her skin became yellow with jaundice. She was in a large gymnasium-like gynecological ward, with nearly 60 beds, side-by-side. Cross-infection of bacterial diseases is extremely prevalent in these open wards, and often patients grow worse while confined, instead of better. Often they die. Stray cats and rats skittered across the floor. The cats didn’t dare chase the rats, for the cats were smaller. This was where Rose’ bed was. A stack of bills at her bedside continued to increase and her condition deteriorated until we feared she too would soon die. There at her bedside was her husband (a part-time carpenter who often goes without work for a month at a time), and their son. Their two small daughters waited with a friend at home. On Sunday at church, the congregation took a special offering for Rose. When the altar flowers were brought into our apartment after church, PJ noticed red, yellow and white roses. “Ah, just like our cook, here is a YELLOW Rose!” That evening a dear friend (Chuck), visiting from the USA, decided to visit Rose in the hospital. Last year when Chuck and his wife visited Davao, Chuck’s wife Jane was touched when they ventured into the poor, squatter-hut area where Rose’ family lived. A small child had made a little paper heart and pressed it into Jane’s hand. Looking into the dirty face of the little girl in rags, Jane cried as the girl hugged her and said, “I made this for you because I love you!” Back home in Colorado, friends of Jane had fine jewelry and pearls and diamonds. Yet Jane’s most cherished prize was that little paper heart which reminded her of the little Filipino ragged girl who’d hugged her and said, “I love you.” As Jane’s husband Chuck saw Rose’s life ebbing away, he suddenly reached deep into his pocket to give money for Rose to get four bags of blood to replace all that she had lost. He also paid all the bills stacked up on the bed. Still, the next day she grew worse. “Pastor Paul, I have an errand to make. What do you suggest we do to save Rose?” I challenged him to switch Rose to a real hospital with a semiprivate room and with paid doctors. “I will cover the entire bill!” exclaimed Chuck. “Just get her out of there.” A few hours later Rose was resting comfortably in a private bed awaiting surgery. Four days later, she joined us in a victory dinner on her way home from her successful operation. No longer the yellow rose of Davao, her cheeks were flushed with color. And all because of a little paper heart and a hug from a loving beggar girl…and the receptive hearts of God’s grown-up children. Until next time… Let the islands rejoice! Present need: $60 to replace my favorite Bethany Parallel Commentary which was destroyed by the recent flood. Please pray:
Praise God:
Status of $30,000 needed for 21 passenger jeepneys to replace three of our overcrowded BLC 10 passenger multicabs: $2705 received, $27,295 left to go! Five of the present seven BLC vehicles are dangerously overcrowded. BLC Children still waiting for sponsors: 20. |
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| 4/14/2011 | “The water is overt the rooftops!” We had been stuck in traffic for over two hours. After a very busy Tuesday with teaching Pastors’ Class, then officiating a Kiwanis fellowship meeting and then a board meeting, and on top of that, Elvie traveled an hour away to help supervise and speak at a sister school’s graduation. To top it all off, we spent hours “rescuing” a friend from a hospital which was not taking care of her serious condition and thus we transferred her to a more reputable one. Tired from a very busy day, we could not wait to just get home and tuck our two kids into bed. Yet while saying goodbye to our patient in the hospital, it started raining outside. On our way home, the car konked out three times, since the water on the road was often up to the car’s windows. We kept trying to take alternate routes home, along higher roads. But even as our car struggled up hills, the water rushed past our submerged tires in torrents. Finally, only half a mile from home, while stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic, we anticipated ending the day with our family. When the text came on Elvie’s cell phone (about rooftop-deep water), all we could think of was, “What about our kids?” Finding a dead-end side road, we drove to the end of it, parked the car and started walking in the dark rain of the night. Crossing back cow pastures in the mud, we had to keep wary by the gleam of lightning flashes, lest we tread into the manure paddies left by the grazing cattle. Finally we pushed through a wooden fence and saw a familiar road. With two bags of fast food in our hands for our kids’ dinner, we rushed closer to the school where we live. “You can’t pass this way,” declared two of our bus drivers who had just finished removing the vehicles from BLC’s drive-in gym, up to higher ground. “You will be swept away by the current!” “But what about our kids?” Cried Elvie. “Oh,” responded the driver to our great relief, they are safe in the second floor third-grade classroom.” Phew, thank you Lord, for your protection! Running home via a back way, we plunged neck-deep into the muddy water where the current was not as strong. Murky brown liquid poured out the entrance of the school as we held the dinner bags over our heads and made our way through to give very wet hugs to our kids, holed upstairs. “Wow,” said Elvie. “All day we spend serving others, while our own house is destroyed!” Sure enough, as we stepped up the few steps to our apartment and pushed open the front door, waist-deep water held our furniture, tv, refrigerator, photo albums and other belongings floating in the rooms. Swim goggles from BLC’s triathlon team, stored in our closet from this morning’s practice, floated here and there amid clothes, irreplaceable family pictures, boxes of food and books. Most of our personal belongings, including baby pictures and wedding photos, were just blank pieces of waterlogged paper and would need to be thrown away. Hours later as the rain began to subside, friends from church and school came by to help bailout the water. Even the son of our hospital patient, whom we had driven home, helped us to clean up. But this mess will take weeks to fix. Although our neighbor’s message that the flood was up to the rooftops was off by many feet, this flood was still devastating. PJ and Abby slept the night on top of school desks on the second floor while I rested on the couch in my third-floor President’s office. Sporadically throughout the night I awoke to check on the kids and the ongoing bailout progress. “Dad, it was horrible!” Thirteen-year-old PJ had exclaimed earlier. “Abby and I could see the water first seeping through the cement of the walls, and then under the door cracks. When the door was opened to rescue us, a wall of water came plunging into the house. The flood waters rose so quickly that we could only move a few things out of the apartment in time.” Ten-year-old Abby interjected with “And when we put things on the wooden table or chairs, they were lifted by the flood and our things tipped over into the flood. Many things were swept out through the door by the current.” Even PJ’s library book was destroyed, as it was put on a chair which tipped over before it floated away. Our beds were soaked and the foamy mattresses floated by. It was then that I noticed that the raft we had floated on back and forth from our apartment to the steps of the school was actually our wooden kitchen cabinet on its side. Yet now as the water began to go down to only two feet deep, I glanced over at our slumbering children on the tops of school desks. Taking a dry towel, I placed it over Abigail’s exposed bare feet, as she turned over in dreamland. Back in my office, while drying out the soaked contents of my wallet onto my desk, I prayed, “Than you Lord. You heard our prayers for the safety of our kids. We are together as a family: You, me, my wife and kids. Though the flood has swept away our home, we still have you and them. It is enough.” Until next time… Let the islands rejoice! Present need: $150 for soap, water, and cleanup supplies to remove the devastation caused by Davao’s recent flood. Please pray:
Praise God:
Status of $30,000 needed for 21 passenger jeepneys to replace three of our overcrowded BLC 10 passenger multicabs: $2700 received, $27,300 left to go! Five of the present seven BLC vehicles are dangerously overcrowded. BLC Children still waiting for sponsors: 20. |
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| 4/7/2011 | “Students, be a child of courage like David was when he defeated Goliath with only a sling and a stone.” The day before BLC’s Graduation Ceremonies, another separate vent was celebrated. Hundreds of parents and students came to honor those who were moving up a grade. This was BLC’s Recognition Day. Although we had planned the events months in advance, just a few days before the ceremony was to take place, a transport strike was announced. In the Philippines, whenever the price of gasoline increases substantially, all the bus drivers and jeepney drivers in the country take the day off, without pay. Sometimes the strike will last for a few days. Since most Filipinos do not own their own cars, and since some strikers throw stones at cars on the road that day, most people stay at home during a transport strike. Two days before the event, a BLC school wide meeting was held to determine if we’d move the date of the event to Saturday instead of Thursday. The teachers said, “Since we are not paid extra to attend on an alternate day (Saturday), we’d rather still hold the Recognition Day on Thursday, strike or no strike. We will trust in God to make a way” It was settled. Strike or not, the parents would attend the BLC Recognition Day on Thursday. Nobody was absent Thursday. Some families walked to the school. Some rode bicycle. Some took taxis. During my message, I preached that courageously we, like David and also like the students, use the five stones of victory in our pockets to defeat our enemies. These stones, as seen in David as he approaches the giant, are victory, confidence, faith, authority and forward thrust. God will make the way clear for us, as we trust in Him. Glancing over to the sound system seven hours later, at the closing of our event, I noticed a sign: “Politician Dante Apostol has offered free use of these speakers, microphones and soundboard to the community.” Elvie explained to me, “Our BLC sound system was blown-out. But due to the transport strike, another school which had reserved Apostol’s sound system postponed their graduation, so we were able to use it, since we were next on the list!” The stones of strikers did not keep our BLCers from the event, and the stone of trusting God prevailed! Until next time… Let the islands rejoice! Present need: $448 for 32 desk-chairs, at $14 each. Please pray:
Praise God:
Status of $30,000 needed for 21 passenger jeepneys to replace three of our overcrowded BLC 10 passenger multicabs: $2695 received, $27,305 left to go! Five of the present seven BLC vehicles are dangerously overcrowded. BLC Children still waiting for sponsors: 19. |
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| 3/31/2011 | BLC RECOGNITION DAY (3/31) GRADUATION DAY (4/1) “It is time to come out of the ark.” Being the senior pastor and church planter of the nine Faith Fellowship churches, I decided to be the one to preach the final sermon in one of our church plants. Due to the fact that the attendance had been dwindling in a few of our church plants, and also due to the fact that many of those delegated to submit reports to the mother church had not done so, plus the fact that there was not much visible outreach to the communities where the churches existed, we made a board decision to close three of the nine churches. Since two others had closed a few years back, that left five remaining open. The churches are not really closed…just the locations. Most of the members of the closing churches have agreed to rejoin the mother church congregation, which meets on the BLC campus. We do plan that, years from now, after the worldwide financial crunch eases, we will hire a full-time Filipino pastor to run the church plants, performing visitation in homes, outreaches to communities and submitting reports. “After over a year of being in the ark,” I mentioned in my sermon about Noah, “it was time for Noah’s family and the animals to leave the ship. It had been their home for so long, perhaps they didn’t want to leave. But it was obviously time to go.” It became clear to the congregation that their church had been a training ground for these past five years. Now, as they were headed back to the mother church, they were seasoned leaders, to teach Sunday school, be music leaders, and help with the youth program. Before my closing prayer, Ben stood up for the “final farewell” to the building they had rented for worship these past five years. “Just like Noah’s family celebrated birthdays, anniversaries, births and deaths on the ark, likewise we have shared so very much together here in our ‘ark’. Now the dove of peace has returned as a sign that it is time to say goodbye to our ark.” Praise God for loving congregations. Please pray for these dear people as they combine back with the mother church, that their great expertise would be used by God to achieve powerful things to further God’s kingdom. Also please pray for wisdom to discern when will be the best time to re-plant many of these churches. Until next time… Let the islands rejoice! Present need: $765 for 17 Wall fans for BLC’s classrooms, at $45 each. Please pray:
Praise God:
Status of $30,000 needed for 21 passenger jeepneys to replace three of our overcrowded BLC 10 passenger multicabs: $2690 received, $27,310 left to go! Five of the present seven BLC vehicles are dangerously overcrowded. BLC Children still waiting for sponsors: 19. |
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| 3/24/2011 | (FROM SINGAPORE) “That is the monkey-god” In Malaysia, on the way to the bus station, Elvie’s and my taxicab driver explained to us the identity of each of the miniature idol-gods glued to his dashboard. Oh, it would be nice to tell this man that there is only one God who loves us and sent His Son Jesus to die for us. But how, in such a short few minutes? “Honey,” Elvie later reminded me while riding on the bus to the Singapore border, “Be discreet when sharing the Gospel. After all, telling people about Jesus is such a wonderful thing, that we should not throw the precious Gospel around liker a paper airplane, hoping it will land on willing ears.” While traveling in Malaysia and Singapore for a Kiwanis convention and to compete in the 70.3 mile Ironman triathlon, we encountered Buddhists, Hindu, Muslims and various other religious people. While we were able to marginally share our faith with many people, all listeners seemed a little uncomfortable with our talking about Jesus, or even about God at all. While competing in the triathlon, my question was partially answered. “Lord,” I prayed, “Please put a few clouds into the sky. Otherwise I will get heat stroke or have to start walking.” Already many of the 1750 athletes from 69 different countries had dropped out, due to accidents and exhaustion. At the 5-kilometer mark, I noticed some dark clouds collecting in the sky over the Singapore skyscrapers. “Oh Lord, if it starts raining by the 13-kilometer mark, I will keep running.” At the 8 km point, the sky was getting darker and the thunder started to roll. “Oh Lord, only 5 km left before 13. Please, send the RAIN!” At km 11, I felt the first few raindrops. “YAY, GOD!” I yelled. As the scattered drops became a downpour, I picked up my pace and called to half a dozen others over the next ten km to the finish line, “It’s RAINING! Praise GOD!” At 21 km, as I passed a few more runners, the sun suddenly burst through the clouds, and the finish line loomed before me. As I sprinted the last fifty yards, the announcer cried out, “WOW! Look at that runner go! Where did he get that last burst of energy?” After my seven hours of swimming, bicycling and running, spectators exploded into cheers as I, breathless, finished the race, crying out, “Thank you, JESUS!” As the computer timing chip, which had dug its way into my flesh for the past 7 hours was removed from my ankle, I made eye contact with the assistant who retrieved it, with the comment, “Oh, praise God, it is finally OVER.” No doubt about it, I found a point of contact after all, with the Buddhists, Hindu, Muslims and others: Our God RAINS!!!! Let the islands rejoice! Present need: $650 for tables for BLC’s Industrial Arts class. Please pray:
Praise God:
Status of $30,000 needed for 21 passenger jeepneys to replace three of our overcrowded BLC 10 passenger multicabs: $2685 received, $27,315 left to go! Five of the present seven BLC vehicles are dangerously overcrowded. BLC Children still waiting for sponsors: 19. |
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| 3/17/2011 | (FROM MELAKA, MALAYSIA) “Are the kids safe from the tsunami?” While in Malaysia and Singapore for the Kiwanis Asian-Pacific Conference and also to compete in the IRONMAN triathlon, on Japan’s “9-11” (3/11: March eleven), a devastating earthquake/tsunami hit. It was strongest Japanese earthquake on historical record. The Friday quake concerned us, for early every Saturday morning before the sun rises, our BLC triathlon team of 40 pupils practices their swimming in the Pacific Ocean. While following the news channels on television after our day of convention meetings, Elvie and I stayed up late in to the night to see if Davao City was in danger. Finally we called PJ, Abigail and the triathlon coach to cancel BLC’s swimming practice. However there was no need to move PJ and Abby up to the mountains. Still, this swimming cancellation meant that the team would have a longer practice for their bicycling and running. This was the “breaking-in” of their brand new bicycles. During our convention meeting, the delegates from Japan were noticeably concerned, and the Taiwan governor announced, speaking for their 300 Chinese delegates and also for their 11,000 non-attending delegates, that they were giving aid of $2.500 to the Kiwanis Clubs of Japan to help the Japanese children who were orphaned due to the deaths of their parents from the tsunami, earthquakes, whirlpool, landslides and nuclear reactor leaks and explosions resulting from the events of 3/11. So I asked myself, “Wow, look at what the rich businessmen are able to do for those in need. What could a simple pastor like me do to help? These wealthy nations are assisting each other in the work of reaching the needy of the world.” Yet my answer was given Saturday afternoon. As a delegate from the Philippines, I sat with many others from the Philippines. My fellow delegate gave me an unopened bottle of water. I then noticed that, at the head table, with a dozen other international Presidents, chairmen and officials, was a Taiwanese delegate whose pointing to his empty water glass was unnoticed by the waiters. So I quietly walked up to the head table and gave the Taiwanese official moderator my unopened water bottle. Huh. Taiwan was able to help Japan when they had too much water, and (in a tiny way) I was able to help Taiwan when their water was not enough! Until next time… Let the islands rejoice! Present need: $650 for tables for BLC’s Industrial Arts class. Please pray:
Praise God:
BLC Children still waiting for sponsors: 19. |
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| 3/10/2011 | DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME (3/13) “I challenge you, if you remember nothing else from my visit, to in the next 24 hours fulfill my challenge, to drink, steal, swear and lie!” What a surprise this challenge was during the international Kiwanis president’s visit to Davao City, which culminated in our evening banquet where dozens of new members were inducted. President Sylvester Neal’s visit included induction of BLC’s brand-new K-Kids club, and many other very special ceremonies. During the press conference, one of the ten reporters asked about Kiwanis Scholarships and I was tasked to explain how Kiwanis provides aid for the poor kids in many areas assisting BLC. When 20 Kiwanian governors and officers from the far reaches of the nation came to visit Barner Learning Center, our teachers and staff were ready with our 500 students to “wow” them with a fantastic 20-minute medley of inspiring songs like “The Sun will Come out Tomorrow,” “Did You ever know that You are my Hero?” and “Jesus Loves the Little Children.” After I explained to our visitors that the average BLC family’s income is only a dollar a day, and that only 21 of our 500 students pay for their education, the kids touched all of our hearts as they raised their arms in the air and sang with the teachers, “We Are the World, We are the Children.” Finally, the president came up on stage with his executive director and also our local governor to hand out school supplies to each BLC kid, as the children came up to the stage, one-by-one. During the final evening’s banquet, my wife Elvie was inducted as a Kiwanian with the wives of two other of our pastors, plus our security guard, a visiting lawyer and my assistant pastor. The president’s challenge touched our hearts as he urged us to “DRINK daily of the waters of eternal life…STEAL a few moments each day to help those who are in need…SWEAR to strive to change some negative habit that you have formed, and…when you LIE down to sleep tonight, you will dream of new ways to serve others tomorrow!” Until next time… Let the islands rejoice! Present need: $650 for tables for BLC’s Industrial Arts class. Please pray:
Praise God:
BLC Children still waiting for sponsors: 20. |
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| 3/3/2011 | “Mom, I have news…” Hmmm… was this to be good news, or more bad news? A year ago, Elvie and I laid-off a BLC worker who had been stealing equipment from the school. For the past few weeks, since that former employee had gotten a new cell phone, and since nobody knew his new number, he started anonymously harassing BLC employees with negative and accusatory text messages. Elvie started feeling the stress from these nasty comments, so we had a special meeting of the hundreds of staff, parents and friends associated with BLC. I approached the microphone and detailed, from Matthew 18, the 3-fold Biblical response when someone is in the wrong. A special time of reflection, repentance and forgiveness ensued. There were tears and smiles of joy as people one-by-one took turns to confess their grievances to each other and to pray for each other. What was intended for wrong came out very right. “Phew!” I said to Elvie later. “I’m glad that is over. I wonder what God has in mind next, to help us in our growing closer to Him?” That was when PJ came home from his basketball game with his “NEWS”. “We had two teams,” began our thirteen-year-old son. “But my team was the little guys while the other team was the big guys. They made so many baskets, and we had made so few! With only a few minutes left to the game, the officials threw out the “Golden Ball”. The Golden Ball is thrown onto the court usually only for a few seconds at the end of a game, and that only once in awhile. If a basket is made with it, no matter what the score, that team wins. The opposing team caught the Golden Ball and threw it toward the basket. It missed! On the rebound, another of the “big guys” made for a basket and…missed again! And PJ, quite unsure about his athletic skills, caught the rebound. He immediately passed it to his teammate, who went for the basket and…missed! Yet PJ got the rebound again. To be sure to get the point this time, with seconds left in the game, PJ’s friend moved to right underneath the basket. PJ threw the Golden Ball to him. Yet his throw was a little high, and…the ball went up, up, right to the backboard. It hit the rim. As if time stood still, dozens of pair of the eyes of staff, students and friends watched in awe the ball followed the rim around and around and around. Finally, the Golden Ball decided the winning team…the Little Guys! Lots of pats on the back for PJ later assured us that God’s plan for NEWS today would be…GOOD news! Until next time… Let the islands rejoice! Present need: $60,000 for the first floor of our new building, which (after funds arrive) will be built in the location of the present BLC gym. Please pray:
Praise God:
Status of $30,000 needed for 21 passenger jeepneys to replace three of our overcrowded BLC 10 passenger multicabs: $2670 received, $27,330 left to go! Five of the present seven BLC vehicles are dangerously overcrowded. BLC Children still waiting for sponsors: 20. |
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| 2/24/2011 | “Why do you want to get involved with yet another civic group?” Many who are praying for this ministry are concerned that I (Paul) spread myself out too thin, with orchestra, triathlon, Kiwanis, CEF, DCL, pastoring, BLC, Seminary teaching, etc. Yet recently an opportunity arose to delegate a new project to some of the staff here at BLC. When one of the school guards (we have three, who take overlapping 10-hour round-the-clock shifts) had to go and renew his guard-license, I suggested that he hold off until Elvie and I presented another option. When I go outside at 3am to do my daily jogging, I often catch the guard on duty sleeping. Why pay somebody to sleep? Then again, if the school is not being guarded, why not just lock up the building and let our two dogs be the guards? “Roger, how would you like to head-up BLC’s extracurricular activities?” The more he listened, the more Roger’s eyes shown. Of the three guards, who all love BLC’s 500 pupils, Roger seems to care a little deeper for the kids. He also often works on my bike when it malfunctions. So he could supervise the triathlon coaches, and also care for the BLC kids’ bikes. When the Lieutenant Governor of Kiwanis proposed that BLC start a K-Kids (children’s Kiwanis Club) on campus, I figured, “Hey, that is an extracurricular activity!” So we organized Roger and half a dozen other BLC staff to go ahead and be the advisorial group for the new club. The club will be inducted by the International Kiwanis president when he visits BLC in March. “But how will this help the poor kids on campus? Some of these kids are malnourished. Others are sickly.” All our questions were answered when the Kiwanis District reps came by to share how the club would begin. “Every classroom will have a student leader. He or she will work with the school nurse and his teacher to weigh the kids and provide packets of fortified rice until the students are healthy again. If they are sick, there is a fund to partially help them through their hospital stay.” Oh yeah! Watching Roger and Richard weld together the pipes for BLC’s new bicycle rack, big enough to hold all twenty new bikes, I thought, “Wow. These 500 BLC kids, who are so very dear to us, now will have some of their desperate needs met by yet another opportunity to network with groups in Davao City.” Until next time… Let the islands rejoice! Present need: $300 for 100 tambourines for BLC’s new tambourine troupe. Please pray:
Praise God:
Status of $30,000 needed for 21 passenger jeepneys to replace three of our overcrowded BLC 10 passenger multicabs: $2665 received, $27,335 left to go! Five of the present seven BLC vehicles are dangerously overcrowded. BLC Children still waiting for sponsors: 20. |
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| 2/17/2011 | HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY (2/14) HAPPY PRESIDENT'S DAY (2/21) “How did you do it?” while visiting Sumatra, Indonesia (the most Muslim nation on the planet) this past week, we noticed many Christian churches. Yet even with many non-Muslim churches present, Christians are still a persecuted minority among Muslims, Buddhists, and other faiths. So, during our five-day stay, Elvie and I were invited to speak with Buddhists, Christians and Muslims about our work in the Philippines. “We have never lost our focus,” I explained, “Which is to glorify Jesus Christ.” A Buddhist man who founded a university the same year we started BLC (1998) was disturbed when I opened my Bible in his office to share with him about the life of Nehemiah, a man who accomplished much while under persecution. I shared how we, like Nehemiah, have persevered. We trusted in God like Nehemiah did. And God has blessed this work so that we have reached the needs of thousands of poor children. The next day of our whirlwind visit, we spoke with some Chinese doctors about developing sustainable outreaches among the tribal people in the mountains of Medan and Banda Aceh, so that the sick and poor mountain people would not be tempted by the billions of rupiah offered them by the terrorists. On Sunday morning Elvie and I were back in the pulpit in the Philippines. It was our church’s 14th anniversary. “The world wants to know how we did it,” I challenged the 530 in attendance, “They want to know how an outreach such as BLC keeps going, year after year, with no guaranteed support. So this is what I told them…” “God’s work, done God’s way, in God’s timing, will never lack for God’s support. As always, we expect great things from God, attempt great things for God, and accept great things from God!” Until next time… Let the islands rejoice! Present need: $360 to build Teachers’ mailboxes at BLC, for their personal belongings and also for on-campus mail. Please pray:
Praise God:
Status of $30,000 needed for 21 passenger jeepneys to replace three of our overcrowded BLC 10 passenger multicabs: $2660 received, $27,340 left to go! Five of the present seven BLC vehicles are dangerously overcrowded. BLC Children still waiting for sponsors: 21. |
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| 2/10/2011 | “She’s calling out your name!” Three years ago, Ricci Marie (a BLC third-grader) almost died from Lupus. Yet through various donations of funds for medicine (BLC’s Children’s Emergency Medical Fund), and especially through answers to prayer, God pulled Ricci Marie back from the brink of eternity. Yet now as a sixth grader, she is in the hospital again, very close to death. Teetering on the brink, each time she becomes delirious, she cries out the names of those who are most dear to her: her parents and her pastor. On Monday, I visited her in the ICU hospital ward. She had already been confined in the sterile white environment of the hospital for over a month, and desiring to focus her attention on recovery and getting home, I challenged her, “Ricci Marie, you must be strong. All of your 499 schoolmates at BLC prayed for you at flag-raising this morning. “And not only that, we need you on the BLC triathlon team!” From underneath her oxygen mask, a contagious yet weak smile brightened her face and, although she was tired, her eyes twinkled that Ricci smile like when she had been well. She nodded her head, “Yes, Pastor.” An hour or so later, as Elvie and I headed to the parking lot, there waiting for me was my Ironman co-athlete Ken, with his promised check for bicycles for the BLC triathlon team. It was written for more than he had promised, so my smile grew even bigger, as I thanked him in gratitude. “All glory to God,” he replied. On Wednesday, since my 50-mile weekly bike trip took me past the surplus bicycle shop, I popped in to see their progress on BLC’s 20 bikes, which we had ordered in December. It was then that they dropped their bombshell: they were increasing the price of the bikes by 60%! When I got home a few hours later, 2 emails brought the smile back to my face. They both were from fantastic friends who wanted to donate to BLC some funds for the kiddie-triathletes’ bikes. These donors are giving enough to make up the difference in the bike shop’s increase, PLUS a little extra to go toward purchasing some of the 20 needed bike helmets! YAY GOD! Now, when God heals Ricci Marie and she gets well, there will be a bike available for her place on the team! Until next time… Let the islands rejoice! Present need: $150 for 15 children’s bicycle helmets for our BLC “BSR” (Bicycling/Swimming/Running) team in preparation for the April, 2011 Davao City Kiddie Triathlon, sponsored by a partnership between TRIAD (Triathlon Association of Davao) and the Kiwanis Club of Davao City. Please pray:
Praise God:
Status of $30,000 needed for 21 passenger jeepneys to replace three of our overcrowded BLC 10 passenger multicabs: $2655 received, $27,345 left to go! Five of the present seven BLC vehicles are dangerously overcrowded. BLC Children still waiting for sponsors: 18. |
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| 2/3/2011 | “Pastor, please pray for me!” Last August during the Ironman Triathlon, one of my teammates urgently requested for one more prayer as we waited the final countdown when the race would begin. We both were wearing our swim caps, goggles and triathlon suits, in preparation for diving into the water to begin our seven-hour swim/bike/running race. So we prayed together. Then the gun went off, and over seven hundred swimmers dove into the deep. Two months later, BLC started a swim team, practicing early every Saturday morning before the sun arose, in the Davao Gulf of the Pacific Ocean. The goal was to prepare the poor BLC team for a city-wide “Kids’ Triathlon” this coming April, 2011. Dozens of kids showed up each Saturday morning at 4:30 am, so I checked into the surplus bicycle shop to see if I could pick up some cheap used bikes for our team. At just $32 apiece, they’d give us 20 bicycles. Oh, but where would I find $640 for these 20 bikes? Since I didn’t have the funds, I prayed. Every month, every week, and every day, I prayed for those 20 bikes. Every time I rode my own bike past the surplus bike shop, seeing those used bikes sitting there, I’d pray for those bikes. For the longer we delayed getting the bikes, the less prepared our team would be for the bicycling portion of the upcoming triathlon race. Since the Triathlon Association of Davao (TRIAD) supplied a free swim instructor for BLC once a week, the kids are getting quality training in strokes, floats, kicking and breathing. But God was not finished yet. He also worked a few more miracles, as swim goggles were donated. Almost 100 of them. And swim caps too, plus a god number of swim suits. But still, no bikes. Then it happened. This past Saturday our swim instructor didn’t show up for practice, so I trained the 30 kids myself. That afternoon I received a text on my cell phone, from Felina (the instructor). “Sorry I couldn’t make it, due to a SCUBA team I was requested to train (tourists). But I have GREAT news!” I read on, curious as to what this fantastic news could be. Was God finally answering my prayers for those 20 bicycles? “Remember Ken? Well he asked me why I don’t join TRIAD each Saturday anymore for their weekly long-distance bike trips. When I told him about BLC’s triathlon team, he asked about the poor children’s bikes…then he DONATED $100 for the team’s bikes!” I almost dropped my cell phone. PJ, watching my facial expression, asked, “What’s up, Dad? Why are you suddenly so happy?” My joy could hardly be contained. “PJ, remember when you watched me start the Ironman last August, and I prayed with my teammate before we dove into the water? Well he just donated enough money so that three of BLC’s swimmers can get bikes! Yay, God!” Please pray for wisdom, as we choose which of the swimmers will be receiving the bikes, and also as we choose a training coach for the bicyclists. Until next time… Let the islands rejoice! Present need: $448 for 32 desk-chairs, at $14 each. Please pray:
Praise God:
Status of $30,000 needed for 21 passenger jeepneys to replace three of our overcrowded BLC 10 passenger multicabs: $2655 received, $27,345 left to go! Five of the present seven BLC vehicles are dangerously overcrowded. BLC Children still waiting for sponsors: 19. |
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| 1/27/2011 | HAPPY MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. DAY (1/17) “Class, today we will study the Reformation.” The seminary course I am teaching is on Church History. While shopping for Christmas gifts this past December at the Christian bookstore, I noticed a video with 30-minute clips on seven different Church Reformers. “Perfect!” I thought. The DVD was on sale, too! During our next 2-hour class, I brought in my mini-laptop computer and shared the first half-hour clip on John Wycliffe. Exceptional. I couldn’t wait until next week! Next week arrived. But the laptop died. So no Reformation video. That was okay, as I had a back-up lesson prepared. I brought a different laptop the next week, but it was incompatible with the seminary’s LCD projector. So, all 24 in the class gathered around the laptop computer to see a portion of the clip on John Hus. This week I decided that there was definitely going to be a video on the Reformation. A few days before the class, I tried out the DVD on PJ and Abby’s DVD player. Of course, I had to first remove their cartoon DVD from the player. The Reformation DVD worked great on their player. Thursday night arrived. I packed into the car the television, speakers, DVD player and DVD case. While my class took their midterm exams, I set everything up. Ooooh, but this was going to be good! I could almost hear Martin Luther state on the authority of the Bible, “Here I stand, I can do no other!” First the TV. Then the player. Now the speakers and the plugs and the extension cord. Timing is perfect. Students are already turning in their exams. “Will we have a movie tonight?” They expectantly asked, one-by-one. “Certainly, after your oral reports and exam,” I responded. Then it happened. I opened the DVD player, then opened the DVD case with the Reformation video. But…no movie! Instead, in the Reformation video case was, “Arthur the Aardvark’s Computer Adventure!” The children’s computer game was in the Reformation case! No John Calvin. No John Knox. No Huss and no Zwingli. Just “ARTHUR the AARDVARK.” Fortunately, after the class and I had a great laugh, I once again had a backup lesson prepared. I wonder…what do aardvarks have to do with the Reformation? Until next time… Let the islands rejoice! Present need: $765 for 17 Wall fans for BLC’s classrooms, at $45 each. Please pray:
Praise God:
Status of $30,000 needed for 21 passenger jeepneys to replace three of our overcrowded BLC 10 passenger multicabs: $2650 received, $27,350 left to go! Five of the present seven BLC vehicles are dangerously overcrowded. BLC Children still waiting for sponsors: 19. In 2011, we have dropped some students who did not have sponsors. Rev. Paul, Elvie, PJ and Abigail Barner// Philippine Missionary Church Planters// Barner Learning Center, Inc.//PO Box 82,224//8000 Davao City, Philippines//www.barner.org//(PHILS) 011-63 (082)234-4000//(Philippine Cell phone) 0917-322-8224//(USA) (518) 449-2105.Home address: 18 Eileen Drive, Rensselaer, NY 12144.BLCKIDS@yahoo.com American tie-in free NY # (for messages) to Philippines:(518)772-2775. |
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| 1/20/2011 | “Wow! 24 cake mixes!” When an American friend sent us a large box full of used clothes, school supplies and cake mixes, I was happy to start giving out the clothes, crayons, etc. to the 500 poor BLC kids. We stored the cake mixes in our cupboard, holding two boxes aside to bake two cakes for a church leadership meeting we had scheduled for that afternoon. After the meeting was finished, the last cake crumbs were picked clean by the departing leaders. After the last one left to go, I sighed with relief for a much-needed rest. But first I pulled down two more boxes of mix from the cupboard. This time, chocolate fudge brownies. Just after sliding the prepared mixes into the oven, the telephone rang. One of the church members was inviting us to their son’s birthday party, RIGHT AWAY. In the Philippines, “last minute notice” is the norm for birthdays and anniversaries. “C’mon, let’s go,” called Elvie. But I was tired from the leadership meeting, so the brownies “rescued” me as I made the excuse, “Give me 20 minutes so we can bring a tray of brownies along!” Boy, did the birthday boy love the fresh, hot, fragrant American fudge brownies after we carried them through their front door! Thanks, Lord, for giving me a little rest and also a tummy full of delicious American chocolate fudge brownies! Thanks too Lord, for touching the heart of our American friend to send those 24 cake mixes a few months ago, so they would arrive right on the day we’d need them! Until next time… Let the islands rejoice! Present need: $650 for tables for BLC’s Industrial Arts class. Please pray:
Praise God:
Status of $30,000 needed for 21 passenger jeepneys to replace three of our overcrowded BLC 10 passenger multicabs: $2645 received, $27,355 left to go! Five of the present seven BLC vehicles are dangerously overcrowded. BLC Children still waiting for sponsors: 41. |
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| 1/11/2011 | “Dada, what grade are you in?” The 15-yr old boy is the son of a fisherman, and came to visit our family with his dad and 13-yr old younger sister. “I am in second grade,” responded Dada. “Huh?” I asked. “Why are you still in 2nd grade after all these years?” Dada just quipped, “I like second grade, so I take it over and over again.” Well, that is one answer. “How about you, Lovely?” (Her real name) “Oh, I am in fourth grade.” This had me stymied. How is it that the older brother is two grades lower than his younger sister? The father explained. “My wife (these kids’ mom) died of rabies after being bitten by a dog ten years ago. Since then, Dada has washed our clothes, gathered firewood to prepare our daily rice, and cleaned our little hut. While Lovely is in school (she wants to become a nurse), her brother “plays mom” for us. That is really why he never passed grade 2…he is only in school one day out of the week.” I was touched. Sunday I spoke on how we should sacrifice for others, even as Jesus sacrificed Himself on the cross for our salvation. “As you can see from the life of Dada,” I explained, “there can be joy in working to help others.” Until next time… Let the islands rejoice! Present need: $700 for 20 children’s bicycles for us to train a BLC “BSR” (Bicycling/Swimming/Running) team in preparation for the May, 2011 Davao City Kiddie Triathlon, sponsored by a partnership between TRIAD (Triathlon Association of Davao) and the Kiwanis Club of Davao City. Please pray:
Praise God:
Status of $30,000 needed for 21 passenger jeepneys to replace three of our overcrowded BLC 10 passenger multicabs: $2640 received, $27,360 left to go! Five of the present seven BLC vehicles are dangerously overcrowded. BLC Children still waiting for sponsors: 41. |
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| 1/1/2011 | “Honey, I invited a few children over for our Family New Year’s Eve Celebration.” Uh-oh. I knew what that meant…time to start baking. Four cakes, two pies, a blueberry cheese cake, brownies, four dozen oatmeal-peanut butter cookies and a double-portion of macaroni and cheese later, I went back to my office to catch up on finishing some late Christmas cards. Elvie and her lady friends did the rest of the cooking. Yesterday morning I preached at our New Year’s Eve service, and had everyone write down their goals to accomplish within the next 365 days. I opened my lock box and handed out everyone’s goals from last year, and when they were finished making up their new lists of goals, I collected them and locked them up again for another 12 months. PJ made up 42 goals. Abby 11, Elvie ten, and me, 16. One of my goals was, “be so close to God that I will understand His plan for my leading this church flock as their under-shepherd.” Tonight’s guests were a sure beginning for this goal, as twenty-five little children were seated at tables outside our door. Most were from such poor families that they likely would have gone hungry this evening had they not been here. Many games and prizes later, the noise began. At the stroke of midnight, horns blared, fireworks blasted, pans, bells, and whistles were deafening from 12-1am, to cheer in 2011. After the uproar died down, a few of the kids went home, but a dozen stayed, lined up on the floor of our hallway, side-by-side like sardines, sleeping until dawn. Then, of course we fed them breakfast before I went on my daily 10-mile bicycle ride. Hmmm…desiring to know the mind of God in situations is a powerful thing. Instead of seeing the negatives about unexpected surprises that come our way…they become opportunities to see God touch the lives of others in His name. Looking in the smiling faces of those little urchins, many in rags, and feeling that special, warm feeling inside, I thought, “Y’know, desiring the thoughts of God is a fine thing after all! Looking down, I saw tiny fingers curled around mine, and I reached down as the little angel planted a kiss on my cheek…that was just before Abby dropped a chilly ice cube down the back of my shirt! Until next time… Let the islands rejoice! Present need: $60,000 for the first floor of our new building, which (after funds arrive) will be built in the location of the present BLC gym. Please pray:
Praise God:
Status of $30,000 needed for 21 passenger jeepneys to replace three of our overcrowded BLC 10 passenger multicabs: $2635 received, $27,365 left to go! Five of the present seven BLC vehicles are dangerously overcrowded. BLC Children still waiting for sponsors: 41. GOALS FOR 2011:
GOALS FOR 2010:
HAPPY NEW YEAR, 2011! |
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Rev. Paul, Elvie, PJ and Abigail Barner (082) 234-4000 Home address: 18 Eileen Drive, Rensselaer, NY 12144 PLEASE NOTE: OUR PJLILTIM@SKYINET.NET ADDRESS IS DISCONTINUED. PLEASE INSTEAD USE BLCKIDS@YAHOO.COM. THANKS! |
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| Archived news from 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002 Last edited
August 22, 2012
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